Hard Not to Love You
by SalSassy
Summary: Slow building plot of Morgan and Emily's relaltionship. Includes Savannah and an unexcepted background for Emily. Definitely A/U. Reviews always welcome.
1. Chapter 1

**The Unexpected**

The rush of the wind made the hairs on her arms, sheened with sweat, give her goosebumps. She slowed down gingerly and stopped in her tracks near a bench to catch her breath. The faint glow of the fall sun made her confetti-colored running outfit glimmer and attract the attention of everyone with a pulse that was in the park. The music blaring in her headphones stopped momentarily as her phone started to vibrate. She took it out of the armband and frowned at the unknown phone number. "Hello?" "Can I speak to Emily, Emily Prentiss?" "This is she. Who is this?" "This is Savannah. Derek's Savannah." Recognition hit Emily and she immediately wished that she hadn't picked up the phone. "Oh yeah. What did you want to talk to me about?" "Is there any way that you could be in the States any time soon?" "I'm actually state-side right now. I'm in Chicago." "That's perfect, so am I. Do you mind if we meet up to talk for a few minutes?" Um okay. I'm in the middle of a run in the park, is City Press Juice & Bottle okay?" "Yes, that's fine. I can be there in the next 15 minutes." "See you there" Emily said as she hung the phone up and tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

Emily arrived at the juice bar and ordered a smoothie before finding a seat and waiting for Savannah. Emily drummed her fingers against the table as she roamed the juice bar once more over with her eyes. Her phone started to buzz against the wood table and she looked down to see that she had 7 unread text messages. She opened one of the message threads and started to reply before a voice startled her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Savannah." Emily got her bearings back and shook the almond-colored hand that was extended towards her. Emily couldn't help but think about how beautiful Savannah was. She expected nothing less from an alpha male like Morgan but she was still awestruck at how pretty Savannah was. "Not to be blunt, but what exactly is it that you want to talk to me about?" "Derek." "I figured as much." "He and I are no longer together."

"Wait what? The last that I heard the two of you were happy and in love." "That means that Derek stopped telling you about our relationship after our 6-month anniversary. I can tell, just by your reaction, that Derek kept his mouth shut about a lot that happened between us." Emily cleared her throat, "Well Morgan obviously felt that it wasn't my business." Savannah scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That's because you ARE the business. Derek and I aren't together anymore because of you. Derek loves you. Derek is in love with you. He settled for me because he couldn't be with you. For the past 17 months, I've heard stories about you nonstop. He could answer every question known to man about you but he hardly knows anything about me. I'm not _Princess,_ you are." Savannah finished with a hellish glare directed right at Emily. Emily sat across from Savannah and tried not to lose it while she was talking. "The demise of your relationship with Derek has NOTHING to do with me. I didn't even know that you guys were together that long. We've barely communicated for the past year. Don't sit there and blame me because you couldn't keep a handle on your relationship. That's between you and him…NOT ME!" Savannah waited until Emily physically calmed down before she reached into her purse and pulled a medium-sized envelope out.

"Maybe the reason that Derek stopped talking to you had something to do with this." Savannah handed Emily a photo. "Whose baby is this?" "Derek's." Emily's jaw dropped at the newfound information. "And yours?" she managed to get out after her shock had worn off. Savannah's expression went from smug to something that resembled disgust. "No. Just Derek's." "Derek didn't just have a baby by himself." "The beginning of the end for our relationship was when Derek made it very clear that he wanted kids. I have never wanted kids. We were careful, but somehow I still got pregnant." Emily's blood started to boil at the crass way that Savannah was talking about her own child so, she tried to deflect. "So, what the two of you are sharing custody?" "No. I've moved on" Savannah said as she handed Emily a folded-up document. Emily snatched it away as her eyes quickly skimmed over the text. "You've signed away your rights to your own son? What kind of mother are you?" Emily hissed at Savannah. She returned with fire in her eyes and venom on her tongue. "I am not a mother! All I did was carry Derek's child. He is not my son! I had no emotional connection or desire to have him in my life before, during, or after I gave birth to him. Derek was the one driving me crazy for a baby. I've never wanted children. Want me to prove it? Look at that." Savannah said as she threw one last document at Emily. "You had a hysterectomy?" "As soon as I could. I should've got one before I even got involved with Derek." "You evil bitch!" "Call me what you want but I never beat around the bush with what I wanted. Derek knew from the beginning that he couldn't change me, yet he still tried. I gave him his child. I'm not fighting for custody. I called you because you knew the least about our relationship and I wanted you to hear it from me and not Penelope or JJ or anyone else." "Why me?" "Because you're what Derek needs. You're what he always wanted. I was never destined to be his wife or supposed to be the woman that had his child. That was always supposed to be you. Now you have your chance. Your welcome." Emily sat at the table staring at the picture of the baby boy for what seemed like an eternity before her phone ringing startled her.

 _How could anyone walk away from you?_ Emily thought to herself as her finger traced over the baby's chubby face. Her phone wouldn't stop ringing so she finally picked it up and answered with an annoyed huff. "Yes?" "Emily. Emily Prentiss?" _What is this? Strange numbers call Emily day._ "This is she. Who is this?" "Desiree. Desiree Morgan, Derek's sister." _Un-fucking-believable_ "How did you get my number?" "It's number 1 on Derek's speed dial. _Probably the same way Savannah got it_ "What can I do for you?" "Derek is missing?" "What?!" Emily was already out her seat and out the door before she finally listened to Desiree. "Not missing like that! Something happened between him and Savannah and he hasn't said much to us. I was wondering if you knew where he could be?" "Is he in D.C.?" "No. He's at home in Chicago. Sarah brought up Savannah and he just stormed out. He's always seemed closer with you than anyone. Do you have an idea of where he might have gone so that I can go look for him?" Emily bit her lip before answering, "I'm in Chicago right now. I think I might know where he went." "Thank you so much Emily." "No problem."

Emily left the juice bar and walked to a nearby coffee shop before jogging back to her car. She got in her red Mercedes G Wagon and drove to the place that she figured Derek would be. 30 minutes later, she parked and got out of her car. She went past the Children's Museum and stopped in-between there and the Shakespeare Theater and spotted Derek leaning over the railing. She walked over to him silently and stood about 5 feet away before making her presence known. "Navy Pier huh?" Morgan jumped out of his skin at the sound of Emily's voice. _Yep. Something is definitely wrong with him._ "Emily. What are you doing here?" Morgan asked with a mix of excitement and confusion. "Your sister called me. She's worried about you." "How did she even get your number?" "Women have their ways." "So, you just flew in?" "No. I got in my car and drove 30 mins." It took a minute for Morgan to process that information. "That means…you were already here in Chicago." Emily rolled her eyes and gave him a 'duh' face. "Yes genius I was already here" she said as she playfully smacked him on the shoulder. Emily extended the cup of coffee. "Here. I got this for you." Morgan accepted the coffee and took a long drink of the hot liquid. "Nice choice in outfit just to get coffee and go on a Hunt Morgan down mission" he said jokingly as he tried not to be so obvious in ogling her. Emily hadn't noticed his gaze and if she did she didn't let him know that she had. "I'll have you know that I was on a run before my Hunt Morgan Down mission started" Emily quipped back with a smile.

The two friends enjoyed the quiet for a little while until Emily's curiosity got the best of her. "Why did you run off from your mom's place?" Emily watched Morgan's body language while she waited for an answer. His shoulders slumped forward and he clenched his jaw. That was a tell-tell sign to Emily that he was stressed out and sad. She reached out and grip the top of his shoulder—the way she always did when something bothered him—and tugged on it until he step away from the railing slightly. Emily took the initiative and stood in the small space between Morgan and the railing. Morgan's breath caught in his throat the minute that Emily stood in front of him. She had no idea how hard it was for him to be near her sometimes—let alone being this close—without grabbing her and kissing her senseless. "Look me in the eyes and tell me what's going on with you Derek." _Derek_ He loved when she called him by his first name. It wasn't the way his mom called his name either when he was in trouble or when she was happy to hear/see him. It wasn't the flirty way that Garcia said it, amongst other things that she called him. It wasn't the way that his sisters called it, knowing that some sibling torture was coming next. It certainly wasn't the lust filled, and only way, that Savannah called his name. Morgan loved the way Emily said his name. It was always in a gentle way that showed how much she cared about him.

"Hello. Are you in there?" Emily said as she first waved her hand in front of his face before knocking her knuckles on his forehead. "Hey now. No need for violence" Morgan said as he grabbed her tiny wrist and pulled it away from his face. Their eyes locked for a moment and they both saw so much more. Morgan saw himself telling Emily about his son and her leaving his life forever. Emily saw herself being in Derek's life for the long haul, if he let her. Morgan broke the intense contact first and Emily played it off as well. "You were the one off in la la land. I had to bring you back to the present." "Speaking of the present" Derek started as he suddenly became nervous and look past Emily. "I'm sorry for basically cutting contact with you for the past year. I had a lot going on and-" "You didn't think that you could tell me? You couldn't trust me?" Emily asked visibly hurt. Derek felt like an asshole and grabbed Emily face with both of his hands. "No Emily. It wasn't like that. I know that I can trust you. Don't ever doubt that. You understand me?" Emily nodded her head as best she could with her face being cradled by Morgan (something that she found herself secretly loving). "So why didn't you come to me?" "I don't know Em. It was easier to block everyone out rather than to admit that I'd gotten in over my head." "How?" "Believe me you don't want to know." "Try me." Morgan let out a chuckle at the face that challenging and stubborn Emily hadn't gone anywhere.

"The last time I talked to you, Savannah and I were doing great. Reality set in and our little honeymoon phase start to disappear. I brought up the topic of marriage and kids. It didn't go over well; Savannah said that she didn't have a problem with marriage but that kids were completely out of the question. I couldn't let it go and that started to be our main issue. She was convinced that I would only have sex with her to try for a baby. I found out she was pregnant when she had some mail from her job come to the house we shared together. I didn't open it but took it to her because it seemed important. One of the nurses told me that she was in the Chief of Surgery's office. I went there and sure enough she was in his office…on his desk getting screwed into oblivion." He stopped talking at Emily's confused look. "His office was in a pretty secluded part of the hospital and it had partial glass walls. I guess they thought no one would see them; either that or they just didn't care. I burst into the office and it seemed they only pulled away from each other because someone else was in the room. I threw the envelope at her and stormed out. I was almost out to the parking lot when I heard her screaming my name. I turned around and she was pissed. I'm thinking 'she's got no right to be pissed off when I just caught her cheating on me'. She threw the envelope back at me and starting yelling 'You happy now?' I didn't know what the hell she was talking about so I pick it up and it says that she pregnant."

"What happened next?" Emily asked as she now leaned against the railing to listen to Morgan speak. "I told her to have fun raising his kid. She grabbed my arm and said 'I'm looking at the father right now'. I didn't believe a word she was saying because God only knows how long she was cheating on me with him or other guys. She said that her boss was the only person that she was sleeping with besides me. I asked her how could she be so sure that the baby was mine and she told me that she was 100% sure because he was sterile. She said that he had a vasectomy when he was in college and had a follow-up exam when he was almost 30. Our relationship crashed and burned after that. When she was in her second trimester, she started to act happy again and I hoped and prayed that we'd find a way to work through all of this. I told my mom that Savannah was pregnant when she was 7 months along. She was happy that she was getting a grandbaby but even I could tell that there was so much more that she wanted to talk about…so I started avoiding her. I didn't tell the team until she was 3 weeks away from delivering. The only person that pushed the issue was Babygirl and I snapped at her. Things have been so tense at work because of me. I haven't been talking to anybody. Come to find out, Savannah was only happy because her and her boss had patched things up and he still wanted to be with her. She told me that in the delivery room. She told me two weeks ago that the two of them were together again officially. Two days ago, she gives me a wedding invitation. They're getting married in Cabo next month."

Emily bit her tongue and her heart broke when she saw Derek drop his head and a lone tear make its way down his cheek. "Did I do this Emily? Did I drive her to that point?" Emily took a step forward and grabbed Morgan's face, the same way he did to her earlier, until he looked at her through watery brown eyes. "No, you did not. Savannah had every opportunity to walk away from you yet she chose not to. She obviously loved the attention that she was getting from the both of you. You didn't drive her to anything; that's just who she is as a person. That's not on you. Karma is a bitch and she'll get what's coming to her in due time." "Emily, how am I supposed to raise my son with no mother? How am I supposed to answer that question when he asks me why he doesn't have a mother?" Derek said as his voice cracked. She forced him to look at her again; this time her eyes were swimming with tears as well. "YOUR son has an overabundant amount of love. He has his grandmother and his aunts. He has the team. He has your college friends. Most importantly, he has me…and so do you."


	2. Chapter 2

"You mean it?" Derek asked uncharacteristically shy in that moment. "I do." Emily assured him while raising her hand to caress his face. Both their phones buzzing broke their trance and they backed away from each other hastily. Emily blushed and bent her head down. Morgan ignored his without even thinking about it. He cleared his throat and got Emily's attention in the process. "Secret boyfriend princess?" he asked. "I have a lot of secrets that you don't know about" Emily said back without thinking about it. She looked up and saw him recoil. "I'm sorry. That was a bad joke." "Don't sweat it princess." Derek replied with a forced smile that both of them recognized. He cleared his throat, "So, what kinds of secrets does Princess have?" Emily gnawed at her cheek and started to pick at her nails. She avoided Morgan's gaze although she felt his eyes boring into her. Derek reached out and lifted her chin with his index finger. She slowly lifted her eyes and saw his warm chocolate eyes staring intently back at her with concern. "Emily, you know that you can tell me anything. Anything." "I um I have quite a few secrets in the vault. The first of which is that I'm not an only child." Emily looked up at Morgan and shifted her body back so that she was resting on the railing with her elbows. "I have a twin brother named Emilio. We call him Milo. We have an older sister named Elesia. We call her Lisa. My parents had Lisa 6 years before they had me and Milo. My parents originally met at Northwestern. It's where my dad went. He's from Chicago, Southside to be exact, and he knew your dad. They played Little League together but separated before high school. They both met up again when they were in their twenties. My dad was finishing up at Northwestern and yours was fresh out of the academy and crazy about your mom. My dad took your dad's death pretty hard and that resulted in us leaving Chicago." Emily took a breath to control the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Us leaving Chicago was the beginning of my family falling apart. Everything was tense for years. My mom kept taking assignments out of the country and I thought that I'd be happy traveling, so I went with my mother. I didn't realize that Milo and Lisa started harboring animosity for both of my parents. When Lisa graduated from high school, she went to fashion school in Milan and never looked back. She's lived there since she was 18. She got married 10 years ago and has a son. Milo went to culinary school after we graduated high school and then moved to Africa. He's been living in Cape Town since he was 20. His longtime girlfriend died in childbirth with his twin boys." Emily looked at his guilty expression and took a breath and waved a hand dismissively. "Enough with the depressing stuff. This is the first time that we've all been on the same continent and in the same city and state in years. It's overwhelming but in a good way. My family is finally taking steps in the right direction. My dad retired and came back to the city. I kind of gave my mom an ultimatum." Derek's snicker caused Emily to sport a sourpuss face. He reached out and pinched her cheek lightly, "Aw is the wittle princess pouting?" Emily smacked his hand away. "I do not pout." "If you say so" Emily rolled her eyes and ignored him, "Anyways, everyone thinks that I'm the rational one, so I was designated to have the conversation with my mother. I basically told her that if she wanted to keep her marriage, have a better relationship with her kids, and to be a part of her grandchildren's lives, then she needed to give it up and retire. I told her that she had a good run with her political career but that it was time for her to put us first. It's time for her family to matter more than her career." "How did she respond to that?" Derek asked as he started drinking his coffee again.

"Surprisingly, she agreed with it and now here we all are. Everybody is back in Chicago…the last place that we were all happy as a family. I hope that it all works out." Derek reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. They both heard her breath hitch and, slowly, he moved in closer to her. As their noses touched and eyes connected, Derek brought their lips closer together but his phone ringing broke their trance. "I'm sorry Em." "It's okay. Answer it." Emily had to force her breathing to even out so that she could calm down from the intensity of their almost kiss. She smirked to herself when she heard Morgan slightly stumbling over his words as his eyes bore into hers. He hung up the phone and slid his phone back in his pocket. "Your mom gonna send out a search party?" "Pretty much. I better get back there before she gets really pissed off at me." "Your mom isn't pissed. She's just concerned and you not talking made her that more worried about you. You are her only son." Morgan bowed his head as if he were ashamed, "I know." Emily lifted his head up and rubbed her palm across the smooth caramel skin of his jaw. Morgan's eyes closed slightly and he nearly groaned when Emily removed her hand. "You need a ride back Derek?" Morgan slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the ground. "Morgan? Hello? Did you drive here?" "Um no I didn't drive here. I walked." Emily rolled her eyes good naturedly, "You mean you sulked here? Cause that was so smart of you?" "Don't be mean."

Emily shoved his shoulder, "Stop being a baby. Come on. Let's get you back to your mom's place." Emily and Morgan walked silently back towards her car as their hands brushed one another softly. When they got to the parking lot, Morgan let out a wolf whistle. "Look at you princess." "Don't start that." Morgan ran his hands smoothly across the paint job of Emily's SUV. "So, princess likes to ride around in style?" "Maybe I do. Maybe it's a rental." "Uh huh. No you don't. You said that you got in your car and drove here. This is definitely yours." "What makes you so sure? Maybe I was lying." Morgan settled his hands on his hips before pointing his thumb at her car. "The color gave you away. You may have Babygirl and JJ fooled into thinking that your favorite color is purple but you and I both know that it's red." Emily nibbled on her bottom lip. "Think you know me so well?" Morgan raised a brow before smiling, "I think that sometimes I know you better than you know yourself." Emily made the mistake of looking into his eyes and seeing how he looked back at her. He looked at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Morgan waged an internal battle with himself and decided that he'd get at least one friendship back on track before he rushed into anything else; he noticed that Emily never stopped looking at him and he didn't even know if she'd blinked. He desperately wanted to change the mood before he professed something that she may not reciprocate. "You know what's missing on your ride?" "What?" "A gold version of me on the hood." Emily dissolved into hearty laughter that was too infectious not to return. "What's so funny about that Prentiss?" Emily tried to get her laughter under control, "That's the last thing that I need. Your ego is big enough. A gold you on the front of my car…..who do you think you are King Midas?" "Actually no. I'm King Gold on the hood of your car Morgan. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Emily couldn't hold back her laughter and Morgan's straight face made it worse. "Get in the car before I let you walk back." Morgan tried to remain stone-faced but it failed and he laughed as he settled into the passenger side. Emily pulled out of the lot and followed the directions that Morgan gave her. When they were almost to his mom's house, Emily's phone—which was connected to the Bluetooth in her car—started ringing again. "You know you can answer the phone right princess?" Emily smiled, "Thank you for permission Oh Great One." Morgan chuckled to himself as she pressed the answer button. "How may I help you Milo?" "Auntie Mily!" "Antonio? What are you doing with your daddy's phone?" "Can you bring me some strawberry sorbet?" "I thought your daddy said no sweets?" "Please please please Auntie Mily. I've been so good today. It'll be our secret." Emily was about to respond when she heard her brother's voice in the background, _"Tonio? Have you seen my phone?"_ "Nope." _"Well if you find it, let me know. I need to call your Aunt Mily to make sure she picks up some ginger so that I can finish dinner."_ "Okay Daddy." "Antonio? Are you telling fibs?" "Um I plead the fifth. Daddy wants you to get ginger." "I heard." "About the sorbet?" "I will get it only if you give your dad his phone back." "Okay deal! You're the best Auntie Mily. I Love you!" "I love you too!" Emily hung the phone up and shook her head. She pulled up at the curb and turned to see Morgan smiling back at her. "What?" "You're a pushover." "Excuse me?" Emily said. Morgan opened the door and turned once more to taunt her, "You Emily Prentiss are a pushover." "Morgan?" "Ye-" the rest of his words died on his lips as Emily pushed him out of the car. He managed to save himself from hitting the concrete and got up to turn towards Emily. "Woman" "I thought you said push me over. Guess I misunderstood" Emily said with a smile. Morgan chuckled and closed the passenger door as she rolled the window down. He leaned in to say one last thing. "Do you want to meet Hank? He's upstairs." Emily's face changed and she looked down at her lap before returning her eyes to Morgan, "I don't want you to feel pressured." "I don't-" "Yes you do. You don't have to rush to repair our friendship because it was never truly damaged. Derek, you need to straighten things out with your family first. I'm not leaving your life. I'll still be here but your family needs to be repaired first." "Yeah you're probably right. Thanks Emily for today…for everything." "You don't have to thank me." "Get out of here and go be with your family. You gonna be in Chicago for a while?" "Something like that." "Go ahead and get out of here silly girl. You know I love you princess?", Morgan said as he leaned off of the window. Emily switched gears and just before she pulled off, she said, "Who doesn't King Midas?" Morgan watched her drive off and blew a breath into the calm air.

"I didn't mean I love you like that Emily."


	3. Chapter 3

Emily walked into her parent's house, ginger in hand, and greeted her brother and sister. "Well hello there stranger. Get lost on your way back?" Elesia teased. Emily rolled her eyes. "No I didn't. I just took my time." "Got the ginger?" Milo asked as he all but yanked it out her hand. "Clearly. Was it necessary for you to attack me for the ginger?" "I didn't attack. The sauce will be ruined if I don't hurry up and add this." Emily and Lisa watched as he ran back into the kitchen. Emily looked around for her parents, "They're upstairs. They both decided to get iPhones, so Brayden is helping them figure out how to use them", Lisa said with a laugh as she answered Emily's unspoken question. Antonio ran up behind Emily and hugged the back of her legs, "Aunt Mily! You've been gone forever!" Emily laughed, "I've only been gone for 6 hours." "That's 5 too long. Did you get it?" he asked with his best puppy dog look. "I did. But it's staying at my house, so you don't get caught with it." Antonio pouted a little, but it quickly went away when he realized that his aunt would let him have as much as he wanted. Emily went into the kitchen and took a seat at the kitchen island. Lisa joined her and offered a glass of bourbon. Emily took it and took a healthy swig out of the glass. She paused for a moment, "This is new. How long have you been a bourbon fan? I thought it was wine and champagne for you." Lisa arched an eyebrow, "Cute. How long have you been chugging bourbon? I drink wine and champagne to please the public. I thoroughly enjoy the rough stuff to simply unwind."

Milo hadn't said a word, but he knew that Lisa was talking indirectly about their parents; Emily caught on to the same exact thing. "Lisa." "What? I'm just saying. I do the typical Elizabeth Prentiss thing to uphold the sophistication and prestige of this family. But when I'm out of the eyes of the prying public, I do what all of us do and become one with the darkest of the dark." "Lisa, I thought you were giving Mom and Dad a second chance?" Lisa scoffed, "You don't get it Mily. You and Milo were the golden children. And when he decided to do his own thing, you became the standard and we became the failures. I chose fashion, Milo chose cooking, and you chose law enforcement. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which of our careers is the most closely related to politics." "Are you calling me a sell out?" "I'm calling you a conformist. You conformed to the expectations of our family. Although it isn't direct, you've managed to somewhat uphold the Prentiss legacy and boy aren't they proud. What is it that you told me a long time ago? People don't change, they modify." Emily was fuming, so Milo decided to change the subject. "Where did you run? To O'Hare and back?" Emily appreciated Milo trying to lighten the mood. "I stopped for a smoothie. Then I went down by the pier. Today, was the first time that I've been able to take my time doing everything. No worrying about a work call or anything." "How is the new job going?" "For the most part, I'm still bogged down in the start-up process. But I'm satisfied with it so far. What about you? Any plans to open a restaurant in the city?" "Yeah. Right now, I'm scouting out locations and looking over population demands. You know…all the boring stuff." Milo looked at Lisa. "And you? What are you doing with fashion." "Not a damn thing right now. I have to get accustomed to Chicago's fashion world. I may open a boutique if I find the right neighborhood and customer base. Milan and Chicago are worlds apart, so it's harder for me to adjust."

Emily refilled her glass with more bourbon, "What about the boys? Have you guys figured out where you want them to go to school?" "I'd prefer homeschooling them", Lisa replied nonchalantly. "Yeah, that definitely won't stunt their social skills." "Fuck off Milo." Emily raised a calming hand, "Okay. okay. Why don't you just send the boys to our old school? It's hands down the best private school in the city…maybe even the state. We succeeded there. The committee is still relatively the same, so that shouldn't be a problem. We are all alumni, so that'll go a long way." Milo and Lisa thought about it for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. "Mily, can you turn the lamb for me please? Lisa, can you julienne slice the squash and zucchini?" Both women looked at each other before laughing. "Anything else your Royal Highness?" "Ha ha very funny."

Milo continued working on the sauce and side dishes as they all worked in relative silence with the radio playing in the background. "Does being back here give you guys the same amount of anxiety that it gives me?" Milo asked out loud. Lisa shrugged, "Not really. I'm pretty sure that our parents are under the impression that you and I will jump ship again. I mean that is what happened the last time that we were here." Emily was silent until she spoke up again, "Being back in Chicago makes me anxious and a little depressed. Not counting the BAU, the last time I was in Chicago was when Hank Morgan died. Dad was destroyed for so long. I remember him not eating or sleeping much. When he wasn't shut down, he was so angry. I remember thinking that I lost my dad because he lost his best friend. I think it was a week after the funeral, when mom hung his picture up on the remembrance wall. I sat in front of it for, I don't know, hours and I just cried. I didn't know him that much, but his death took the light out of dad's eyes and took his happiness. I fell asleep on the floor on top of the Great Dane, Doc, that we had and mom had to carry me to bed. For a while, I fooled myself into thinking that hadn't he died, this family would be happy and together. The simple truth is that this family has been damaged for a long time. Probably way before any of us were even born." Emily finished with a couple of stray tears falling. She wiped them away quickly with the back of her hand.

"I remember Mom crying a lot. I'd never seen her cry so much, but she did it for so long after the funeral that it scared me. When she wasn't working, she was crying. She put on a good face when she was around us. I don't think that anybody knew how sad she was but me. I would sit on the steps in the middle of the night and hear her on the couch crying herself to sleep. I think she's doing the same thing that she did back then. I think she's pretending that being back isn't tearing her up on the inside." Emily and Milo turned to look at Lisa when they heard her crying. "Was I really that much of a bitch? I didn't know anything. I thought everybody was so fine. God, I was so self-absorbed and pissed that I didn't notice a thing. I was annoyed because I didn't have everyone's undivided attention, that I didn't even notice that my family was falling completely apart. I've spent years hating them, when they probably already hated themselves. What kind of daughter am I? What kind of example am I setting for my son? What kind of sister am I?" Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Lisa from behind and hugged her, "It's okay. We've all made mistakes and handled things the wrong way through the years. We're all here right now to fix the mistakes of the past." "I'm sorry Mom. I'm so sorry for what I put you through." "It's okay." The adults were an emotional wreck and the kids chose that exact moment to walk into the kitchen. "I thought we were eating dinner?" Antonio asked before taking a seat at the table, causing everyone to laugh.

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Across town, Morgan felt himself sweating under the intense glare that was boring into the back of his head from his mother. He sat in the middle of the living room floor playing with his son. "Derek" he heard his mother say sternly. He turned around sheepishly, "Yes ma'am." "What were you thinking? Just running off and not telling anyone where you were going. What if something happened to you? What if Hank needed you?" Morgan felt like he was a teenager again getting scolded for not cleaning his room. "I'm sorry mama. I just really needed to clear my head. I should've handled it better and told you where I was going. I'm sorry." "What's going on with you baby? Talk to me." "Everything with Savannah is just so stressful." "You never told me the full story." Mrs. Morgan said softly. "I met Savannah after one of my cases. We flew in late and she was moving in the apartment next to mine. I helped her and she offered to repay me with dinner. I declined because of my work schedule, so she suggested coffee. I agreed and that was kind of the start of our relationship. Bells should've went off in my head earlier because it was essentially physical. I kept pushing for more and eventually she gave in and we were 'officially' dating. It was good at first with us living together and then I brought up the conversation about kids. Her not wanting kids and me wanting them became our main argument for nearly 6-7 months. Some important mail came for her, so I took it to her job. I got the shock of my life when I walked in on her cheating on me with her boss. I stormed out and she followed me. She was angry because she was pregnant and it was mine. Her lover was sterile, so Hank could only be mine. She never wanted anything to do with him. She couldn't wait to give him to me after she gave birth. I never saw my life like this. I didn't think I'd have a motherless son to care for. Emily told me that Hank has plenty of love and that she'd always be there for us." At Emily's name, Mrs. Morgan's eyebrow rose.

"Emily. Your old partner Emily?" "Yes. I stopped talking to her while I with Savannah because I couldn't handle it. I knew she'd tell me to run for the hills, but I kept holding out that Savannah would love me the way I loved her." Mrs. Morgan laid a hand on her son's shoulder. "Derek, are you in love with Emily?" The tears running down his face answered her question. Hank tried and failed to pull himself up, so Morgan helped him. The baby boy touched his father's tears before looking at his hand strangely. He smiled at his father and Morgan smiled back. "I think I am mom. I really do." "Does she know that?" "No. I haven't had the guts to tell her because she may not feel the same. She's the one friendship that I can't lose, no matter what." "Is that why you started dating Savannah? Because you couldn't be with Emily?" "I don't know. I felt so guilty telling her about Savannah. She seemed hurt when I first told her but then she said that she was happy for me. What do I do mama?" "You tell your best friend that you're in love with her." "And if she doesn't feel the same?" "At least you'll know. Although I have a feeling that she does feel the same." "How do you know?" "Desi said that you were dropped off in a red SUV, but you left here on foot. She also said that she called Emily. I assume that Emily is in Chicago?" "You should've been a profiler ma. Yes, she's here. Her family moved back here recently. She said that her dad knew Pop." Fran Morgan smiled to herself. "Eli Prentiss has always been a good man. I never met Emily or her siblings when they were younger, but he talked about them a lot. He actually helped your dad get the guts to propose to me. When your team came here years ago and she introduced herself, I immediately saw Eli in her features. I knew then that you were in good hands with Emily as your partner because I knew the kind of man Eli is. He was always good to us even after you father died. We lived a comfortable life because Eli paid the mortgage and the major bills. That's why I was able to work part-time and never miss a thing that you and your sisters did. I didn't want to take help in the beginning, but he wouldn't take no for an answer." Sarah walked into the living room, "Dinner's ready."

Morgan helped his mother up, "Think about what I said baby boy. At least you'll know."

oooooooooooOOOOOOO

The next morning, both the Morgan family and the Prentiss family were talked into a picnic at the park by the children in their respective families. Morgan saw Emily, but she didn't notice him. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she was….even on the other side of the park. Her parents didn't look like politicians in their casual wear, but their postures gave them away. Emily's older sister, he assumed, had medium-length light brown hair and a stylish fall outfit on. Her brother looked so much like her with his shoulder-length black hair. Emily was wearing long tan boots that stopped under her knee, burgundy jeans, and a tan colored t-shirt. She was carrying a little boy while the other two were hot on her trail. Morgan didn't hear his name being called until his nephew, Malachi, threw the football at the back of his leg. "Hey." "Come on Uncle Derek. You said that we were going to play football." Morgan looked at Hank, who was mesmerized by everything and then to his mother, "We'll be fine. Go play." Malachi threw the ball really far away and Morgan went running for it, but wasn't paying attention. At the same time, Emily was chasing a frisbee that Antonio threw. She and Morgan ran right into each other and hit the ground fairly hard. Emily sat up and held the back of her head as Morgan held his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." "Derek? Two days in a row. You got a tracking device on me or something?" They both shared a laugh and helped each other up. Their families saw the collision and ran over to them immediately. Mrs. Morgan grabbed Morgan's arm. "Are you okay Derek?" "Yeah I'm fine." She then turned her attention to Emily, "Agent Prentiss are you okay?" She laughed, "I'm fine Mrs. Morgan, but please call me Emily. Your son believes that tackling someone is a conversation starter." Hank wasn't a fan of being ignored and made his presence known with a squawk. Emily smiled wide, "And who is this?" "This is Hank."


	4. Chapter 4

Emily's smile grew bigger and brighter as Hank urgently reached out for her and she obliged by grabbing him and lifting him high in the air. Derek watched in astonishment the absolute joy on both of their faces. Emily's radiant smile and even the baby talk she babbled was infectious. He stood, frozen, as he watched how natural their interaction was. While Derek watched Emily, his mother watched him. Mrs. Morgan finally saw a magnificent light come back into his eyes that went missing nearly 2 years ago. His spirit was more lively in this moment than she recalled it recently. Emily was glowing and if she didn't know any better, she'd think that Emily was pregnant. That was a thought that she kept to herself as she watched how easily her grandson became accustomed to her son's best friend. She saw how lovely Emily's smile was she continued to gently lift Hank into the air. Emily felt eyes burning a hole into her and she stopped lifting Hank and turned to Morgan's family. "Did I do something wrong?" Emily soft-spoken question shook them out of their slight trance. Sarah spoke up, "No not at all. Hank is not very good with strangers. Honestly, it's nothing short of a miracle to get him in a stranger's arms to begin with." Emily looked at Derek, whose cheeks turned slightly red as he bowed his head, and nibbled on her bottom lip. "Please don't tell Babygirl. She thinks that he's just shy but clearly he's just picky." Emily laughed to herself and raised her hands in a small salute, "Scout's honor." "You were never a girl scout", Morgan ribbed. "How would you know? Did you know me when I was a little girl?" "No, but I'm pretty certain that you were the little girl under the covers with a flashlight reading Mother Night and turning each page extra carefully so that no one heard it."

Emily knew she had the perfect chance to pick on him, but she decided against it. "You put a lot of thought into that huh?" Emily said as she leaned in to whisper in his ear, "How do you think I convinced my parents to buy all those books in the first place? I was pretty cute in my Girls Scouts uniform if I do say so myself." Emily finished with a small purr that sent a chill down Morgan's spine. Hank chose that moment to nuzzle Emily's neck and make her laugh, "Hi there little man. I didn't forget about you. How do you expect me to forget a face this gorgeous?" Emily rubbed her knuckle across Hank's cheek causing him to let out a loud giggle. "Someone is ticklish" Emily said with enough warm and loving excitement to render the entire Morgan family speechless. "So are you Princess" Morgan teased and was gifted with a stinging swat from Emily. Emily's family finally walked up to the them and Eli Prentiss automatically pulled Mrs. Morgan into a hug. "Francesca! It's so good to see you again. You look amazing." Mrs. Morgan laughed and hugged him back, "And you still know how to flatter a woman. It's great to see you too!" Mrs. Morgan extended a hand to Elizabeth Prentiss and she surprised everyone by pulling Fran into a hug. "Elizabeth, it's nice to see you. It's been a long time. Like 15 years?" "Yes, that sounds about right."

Elizabeth turned her body slightly and made a motion with her hand, "These are my other two children, Emilio and Elesia. And these are our grandsons, Antonio, Brayden, and Christopher." The two families shook hands politely, but Christopher wanted his aunt's attention back. "Aunt Mily can we go play with the frisbee?" he asked as he pulled on her pant leg. Emily turned away from Morgan shyly and leaned down to Christopher's level. "Can you say hello to Hank first?" "Hello Hank. Can we go now?" Emily raised back up and turned sheepishly to Morgan and his family. "Sorry. He's not used to seeing me so much." Morgan stopped her apologies before they started, "It's okay Princess. We won't take up your time. You guys enjoy!" Complete confusion marred Emily's beautiful face when she looked at Derek. He could feel Emily's eyes creeping into his entire being and it made him squirm. "That's a cool frisbee!" was suddenly very loud and ringing in Morgan's ears. He was stuck in the trance of staring into Emily's eyes as everything else faded out around him. He knew that Emily was confused and he even caught the subtle, but not subtle to him, way his mother's eyes fixed on him and urged him to get it off his chest.

Emily's thick eyelashes, Bambi eyes, smooth complexion, and thick black tresses disappeared from Morgan's line of vision as she bent down to get on Malachi's eye level. "You like the frisbee?" The little boy nodded yes in response. "I'll tell you a secret but you have to promise that it's our secret." Emily extended her pinky and received a snaggletoothed smile from Malachi and he locked his pinky with enthusiasm. Emily lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, "It's a special frisbee because we made it ourselves. Maybe one day you and I can make our own but for right now, you can play with us." Emily stood back up as Malachi started to jump up and down and yank on his mother's hand. Morgan raised a brow and looked at Emily, "What did you say to him?" Emily gave only that radiant smile and said nothing. "Instead of spending all of our time standing around, how about we just combine our picnics?" Emily suggested. They all agreed and she moved to return Hank into his grandmother's arms but tear-filled eyes and a poked out lip stopped her in her tracks. Emily tried once more to hand him back, but he just held on to her tighter and tangled his tiny fingers in her hair. Emily rubbed Hank's belly softly, "I think I have you spoiled buddy. As long as you don't turn out spoiled like your daddy then we'll be fine." Morgan thumped Emily.

"Don't hit the woman holding your son. He's precious cargo." _I wish he was your son too Em._ Morgan registered the stinging punch to his arm, "Woman, stop abusing me." "Suck it up big baby." Emily finished and blew a raspberry. Hank's tears were long forgotten as he once again became smitten with Emily. He simply stared at her and whenever she looked at him, his smile was wide and comforting. Morgan watched as Emily sort of played a game of soccer while holding a baby. He marveled at how much of a natural she was and silently berated himself for not letting Emily be the woman to bear his child. His mother and Emily's parents were catching up, while he and Milo talked absently about sports. Lisa and Sarah were heavy in conversation about fashion and Desiree sought out to help Emily with the boys. Antonio and Malachi found a big pile of leaves and begged to play in them. Emily asked the man who'd just made neat piles of crisp autumn leaves if it was okay and he merely smiled and said, "Of course my dear. I'm a grandfather so I get how fun it is, even if I can't jump in them the way I used to." After several long minutes of cajoling, Emily finally got Hank to break away a little and sit in Desi's lap. Emily played a very new version of duck, duck, goose that made no sense because everybody wound up in the leaves. Emily felt like a carefree little girl as the leaves created a golden wind storm around her. she closed her eyes and momentarily went back to ballet lessons and how fun they were. Hank wanted to join the party and Emily picked him up and ran through the leaves.

Morgan's phone rang and he looked down at the caller-id before standing to go get Hank. He walked over to Emily as she stopped spinning around and gently pulled a few stray leaves out of her hair and off of her body. "What's wrong?" He didn't say anything about the pink twinge to her cheeks, "Nothing. You're perfe—I mean—everything's fine." Emily ignored his slipup, "You joining us?" "I would love to but" Morgan started, "Hotch just told me to meet the team on a case in Fort Worth." Emily nodded in understanding and hesitated before speaking, "Derek, can you not tell the team about me being in Chicago?" Morgan looked at the uncertainty swimming in those kind eyes and immediately gave her his full attention, "What's wrong Princess? Why not?" Emily gnawed at her inner cheek, "Because my mind is kind of scattered. I don't want to go back to DC. It's not fair to keep leaving them. I can't make myself tell them that I'm state side because they'll want me to stay and I don't have the heart to tell them no. it's just cruel to keep leaving everybody. This is just my time to clear my head. I need to go back around everybody in my own time if that makes any sense." Derek placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as he grabbed a nodding Hank with the other, "It makes perfect sense Emily. Your secret's safe with me." Emily rubbed her hand on Hank's back when he started fighting his impending nap. He settled rather quickly and laid his head back on his father's shoulder. Hank reached a chubby hand in Emily's direction and she grabbed it and kissed his cheek. _"Aucun acte de gentilesse, peu importe combine petit est gaspille."_ Emily whispered to him and stroked his hair until his eyes got heavier. The quiet moment was interrupted when Morgan asked, "What does that mean?" Emily gave him a small smile, "It means that he will turn out just like his father no matter what." Emily's spicy and floral scent attacked every one of his senses. Morgan leaned in closer to Emily and she didn't pulled away. Emily could feel his breath on her lips, _He's going to kiss me?,_ but she froze when she heard the words, "I love you Emily." Emily pulled back, "You what?" Morgan was instantly a deer in headlights and backed away from her almost jerking; the phone buzzing against his leg was a happy distraction. "I said that the team loves you and that Hotch is going to kill me if I don't get a move on it. Talk to your later Em." Emily waved a hand dismissively as she watched him walk away, _He loves me?_

 **A/N: Just a filler chapter for now.**

 **Translation: No act of kindness, no matter how small is wasted.**


	5. Chapter 5

Emily faintly heard the phone ringing in her office. She blew out a long breath before pushing aside boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape to fumble for the phone. "Hello?" she rushed out. "Hello? Have you really not been a cop for that long?" Emily quelled her comment and bit the inside of her cheek. "Funny. To what do I owe the pleasure Morgan?" The usually smooth-talker stumbled over his next words slightly, causing Emily to laugh to herself. "I need your expertise on a case we're working." "You mean the same case that had you bolting from the park?" Emily left out the part about 'love' just to spare Morgan. She could still here the unsteadiness in his breathing. He was silent for a while so, Emily spoke again, "What do you need my help with Morgan?" "Uh we found a piece of bloody evidence but it's in Arabic and a translator will take far longer than if you just took a look at it for me. Please. I really want to let Hotch know if this has anything to do with our case or if it's immaterial." Emily playfully rolled her eyes, "Send me a picture and I'll translate" the ding in her ear a few seconds later signaled her to put her phone on speaker and read the text. She glanced over it a few times, "It says 'All you had to do was pay attention to me and you wouldn't be like this'. It sounds like an important piece of evidence to me. How exactly did your victim and/or perpetrator end up like?" Emily inquired as she eyed the heavy blood stain covering the top left-hand corner of the paper. "Our victim ended up with her skull bashed in and nearly turned to pulp. She is our fourth victim." "Why did local LEOs wait so long to call you guys in?" "I really don't know Princess. The unsub's cooling off period is becoming practically nonexistent. If we don't get in front of this guy soon, then every woman in this city is in danger." "I'm assuming his victim type is all over the place?" "Yes. Black, White, Asian, and Puerto Rican. Every victim has been a different race, age, socioeconomic class, and all over this city. It feels like we're running in circles." Morgan ran a frustrated hand over his face and leaned his body back further in the wall as he cradled his cellphone in the crux of his shoulder.

"Can you send me a picture of the wounds or describe them to me?" "That's breaking the rules former SSA Prentiss." Morgan whispered out in a voice that would make any woman's panties wet. Emily shuddered momentarily and purred out, "Since when were you one to follow the rules SSA Morgan?" Emily's voice sounded like honey in his ear and he had to focus on something disgusting just to avoid having to explain an erection to everyone else in the room. He quickly sent her a photo of the victims. Emily quietly studied the picture and zoomed in and out quite a few times before noticing an unusual pattern. "Derek, did they all have the three circles in a triangle pattern embedded into their skull?" Morgan closed his eyes at the sound of his given name falling from her lips. He shook out of his fog, "Yeah. We all speculated that it was maybe a power tool or something along those lines." Emily barked out a laugh, "Where we really always this dense? As a team, did we never just look in plain sight?" "What are you talking about? You recognize the pattern left on our vics?" "Yeah and all of you should too. It's a bowling ball. I just took my nephews a couple of weeks ago. The entire team went bowling together so many times!" Morgan pulled the phone away from his ear slightly, _Man she gets loud when excited._ "A bowling ball? How did you come to that conclusion?" "Morgan come on! The note seems pretty accurate with someone who comes in contact with all sorts of people. Think about it…Fort Worth is 300 or so miles big. There are only 8 bowling alleys in Fort Worth. The times that we went bowling as a team, we paid with debit cards. Debit and credit cards are the equivalent of your entire life these days. I'm willing to bet that at least one of those bowling alleys has one system that connects everything. No one looks twice at the guy who gives you bowling shoes, the guy working the concession stand, or even the guy who removes stuck pins. They see all kinds of groups of people daily who barely acknowledge their existence. High schoolers, college kids, co-workers, field trips, families…that is the perfect hunting ground. I've seen with my own eyes how women treat those employees like dirt. The note was in Arabic. Arabic speaking people in that city are more often than not are only able to get menial jobs. I know it sounds pretty farfetched, but how many cases have we solved that were right in our faces?"

Morgan took a long moment to think before his eyes shot to Reid as the younger man all but ran to the board. "Morgan are you still there?" Morgan watched as Reid mumbled to himself before circling spots on the map. He took a closer look and saw that Reid was circling the 8 bowling alleys in the city. _I'll be damned. Princess was right._ "Morgan? Derek?" "Sorry. Pretty boy seems to have the same idea as you do although I doubt the two of you were on the same wavelength with your theories. So, what do you want for being right Princess?" Emily perched herself on the edge of her desk and smiled wickedly before twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "I want a face-to-face explanation." Morgan was confused for a moment, "A Face-to-face explanation of what?" "A few things actually. I want to know the complete details of how your living situation and being on the team is working. I want an explanation for why you lost it on the team, especially Garcia. I want to know why you're still beating yourself up about this Savannah thing. And most importantly….I want to know why you took off after telling me that you loved me." Emily heard the audible gulp after her last request. Morgan felt his mouth go dry. "Em—i—i—I did-" "No need. I want my answer in person when you come back to Chicago. Don't try to tell me that it'll be a while because Sarah told me that you come back the minute a case is over and fax Hotch your paperwork. So, in roughly 2-3 days….I expect my explanations." "Em I don't know if I'll be available. I was supposed to take my mom-" "To a fabric store because she wanted to get back into making sweaters and blankets for you guys and the community." "She told you?" Morgan stuttered out. "No James Barfield told me. He said that he's on fall break from college and wouldn't mind taking her because he'd be catching up with friends nearby. My mother is also joining her and I'm sure they'll be catching up for quite some time. James doesn't want your mother carrying bags up and down the stairs. Your sisters will be working so now you don't have a way to wiggle out of it." "I'll have Hank." "I'm aware but let's be clear. You may have the cutest son ever born but I won't forget that we need to have a serious conversation as well." "Emily when I said that-" "Save it for when I see you. Maybe you'll hear something that you've been hoping for from me." Emily hung the phone up before he could say anything else.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey buddy. Did you miss me?" Morgan cooed out as he bounced Hank lightly in the air. He stood up and went into his mother's kitchen to make Hank a bottle. Everyone was starting to have trouble feeding him because Hank decided that he no longer liked formula. The chubby baby started fussing as the bottle was being made so Morgan went to grab a pacifier. Morgan looked at the clock and realized that he had 30 minutes to meet up with Emily. He grabbed his phone and texted her, trying to figure out where Emily wanted to meet. She texted him back an address and he grabbed the diaper bag and got Hank settled in his car seat. He got into his car and used GPS to get him to a part of the city that he wasn't particularly familiar with. The driveway that he pulled into held a large house tucked back away from the street. The home was close enough to be in the city but far out enough to be in seclusion. He pulled up next to Emily's SUV and cut the engine before stepping out. After he got Hank out of the car, he heard some banging around in a nearby garage off the edge of the house. He took a long look back and noticed that most of the house was covered on the right side as was portions of a tree and a makeshift shed. The front door opened and Morgan was graced with Emily's presence. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was wearing a tank top and leggings. "Uh Princess?" Emily laughed, "This is my place. I bought it a couple of years ago. I've been coming back and forth to the States and taking my time to finish it. I understand now why you fix up homes. This project helped me decompress from the job. I only have one wing left to do but I'm still figuring out how I want it to look." Emily's eyes followed his and he pointed at the tree. "Treehouse. For my nephews." "Aw Princess. You don't play in treehouses?" Morgan asked with a pout. "Not in over 15 years."

Another noise alerted Morgan to the garage. "Relax Morgan. It's just my children." "Children?" Morgan asked confused. Just then, three dogs scrambled out of the garage. He let out a loud laugh that was infectious to not return. "Morgan, these are my fur babies. The German Shepard is Doc, the Dalmation is Lucky, and the Husky is Blitz." Morgan tried to hold back a laugh. "Don't laugh. They were rescues and I let the boys name them." Morgan held his hand up in surrender and snuck a look at a car that was partly covered. "Something I need to know? You trying to bring Fast and the Furious to life?" "Ha ha. Those are projects I do with my dad. You want a tour of the garage?" "Sure." Morgan tried his best to keep his eyes on the back of her head but it was a hard task. Her exposed neck, small tattoos in the middle of her spine, hourglass figure, the bouncing and jiggling of her rear all had him distracted. He managed to stop before he ran into the back of her as she flipped on a light switch. "This is a '72 Plymouth Barracuda, '34 Ford Coupe, '41 Willy Coupe, '57 Chevrolet Bel Air, '68 Pontiac GTO. '76 Pontiac Trans Am, '63 Ford Fairlane 300, '67 Dodge Dart, '64 Porsche 356 SC Coupe, '99 Plymouth Prowler, '53 Jaguar, and our newest project, '51 Kaiser Henry J." Morgan noted how bright and proud Emily's smile was when she rattled off the car names to him. "My dad has always been a car guy. This was the one thing we always got to do…go to car shows. They're all here because my mom would flip if they were at the house. We restore them and either take them to the show or just go for a drive." Emily wanted to knock herself over the head. "Morgan I'm sorry." "Don't be. I had good memories with my dad. Don't apologize for having good memories. I've actually never seen you smile so much talking about your family."

Emily saw Hank squirming in the car seat so, she unbuckled him and picked him up. He smiled at her and she rubbed his belly before he laid his head on her chest. Morgan chuckled and Emily turned to him, "Don't hate. I managed to get both of the Morgan boys sprung." Morgan choked on a breath and it was Emily's turn to laugh. "You hungry?" Morgan was stuck in a trance and had to run to catch up with her. When they walked into her house, he stopped in the living room and noticed all the artwork gracing every wall. He eventually followed her into the kitchen and she was making a bottle for Hank. "Just a fair warning Em, he's been really picking with formula these days." "I know." "You know? How?" "Your mother." Emily replied simply before placing a bottle in Hank's mouth and he eagerly took it. Morgan was perplexed, "How did you?" "It's breastmilk not formula." Morgan's eyes averted to Emily's chest and she threw a banana at him. "Not mine. It's donor milk. Women do sell their breastmilk Derek. They have so many options for specificity that it's mind-blowing. When your mom told me, I talked to this woman that I know and now Hank is drinking breastmilk and enjoying it. There are leftovers in the fridge. Help yourself." Morgan washed his hands and opened the fully stocked refrigerator and grabbed a plate of homemade quesadillas and a bowl with salad mix. Emily let him enjoy his meal, as she burped Hank, before rolling out the questions. "Why are you still punishing yourself over Savannah?" Morgan avoided her eyes and continued to eat. "Because I should've seen it sooner. I'm a profiler." "Derek, you should know by now, thanks to you being a profiler, that women are more manipulative than men are. Next question, why did you flip out on Garcia?" Morgan let out a long sigh, "Babygirl was pushing too hard. In the beginning, she didn't like that our flirtation came to a halt. I didn't even notice it, which makes me an ass. She was just being herself and it started making me uncomfortable. She…she…she kept saying that she thought that I would wind up with someone else instead of Savannah. Savannah heard her once and it didn't end well. After that I just started remaining professional and distancing myself from any activities with the team outside of work. JJ and I got into an argument because she thought that I was too hard on Garcia. Hotch brought me in his office one day and essentially told me that I needed to get it together. He said that I was almost acting the way I did when you guys came to Chicago and found out about Buford. He agreed to let me work on this crazy schedule and here I am."

Emily had remained quiet while Hank played with her hair. She carried him into another room and came back with a small rocker that she put on the counter. She strapped him in and turned on the low vibration. She looked back at Morgan, who was waiting for her to speak, and she gave him a small smile. She took a few steps towards him and leaned forward on the elbow she rested on the kitchen island. Morgan was directly across from her, so she could hear the catch in his breath. She reached a hand over and grabbed a piece of the quesadilla he left on his plate. He always remembered to put some of his food aside for Emily's extremely healthy appetite. _He still knows that I eat his food. Yay me!_ Emily looked at Morgan through her thick lashes, "Derek". Morgan couldn't hide the shudder that coursed through his body when she said his name. She laughed at him when he glared at her, "You love me huh?" "Emily that. I didn't. I-" Emily slowly walked around the island as Morgan stumbled over his words. She was to his immediate left and he pushed back on the stool a little. Emily glanced at Hank, who was finding his sock interesting, and turned back to face Derek. Once again, she stood into a small space in front of him that he left open. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to say that? I always thought that we were really good friends. I felt strong feelings for you and I hoped that you reciprocated them. After all the craziness with Doyle, I figured that I blew my chance with you. I forced myself to move on, especially after you told me about Savannah. I don't think that I ever succeeded with getting over you." Derek's eyes flickered to her lips and then back up to her eyes. He placed his right hand behind her head and brought their faces closer. Their breaths mingled and both pairs of brown eyes locked on one another with such intensity. "Em. I only dated Savannah because I was trying to forget about you. I didn't think that you wanted to be with me, so I started dating." Emily pressed their foreheads together. "You finally going to make your move SSA Morgan?" Morgan smiled and leaned in for a kiss but not before his ringing phone caused him to groan and pout like a little boy. Emily chuckled as he answered the phone. Emily shimmied past him and went to grab a squirming Hank. She picked him up and bounced him as she cleaned up Morgan's plate. His face let her know that he wasn't happy and that he'd probably be leaving soon. Morgan hung the phone up and looked at Emily, "Em. It's a favor for a friend down at CPD." "It's okay. Derek. Go. We'll be here." "Em, I can't ask-" "You're not. We'll be fine for a few hours." Emily walked over to him and placed her mouth near his ear. "To be continued."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Warning: Flashbacks and mentions of sexual assault in this chapter.**_

" _Derek don't run from me. You should know by now that I won't hurt you. What we have is special. What we have is love. This is how you're supposed to be loved. You trust me don't you?" Derek brushed the tear away and rushed out the room._

"Derek. Thanks for coming man." A younger gentleman said as he extended his hand. "No problem Riley. What's up?" "Mind if we talk over drinks?" "Sure." The two men went to a nearby bar to share a drinks and conversation. "Riley, not that I mind but what's up? You don't normally call me out to have drinks in the middle of the week." Riley took a long pull of beer, "Do you think about it? You know…about Carl?" Morgan threw his drink back and motioned for another one. "Why do you want to know if I think about Carl?" "I'm having these horrible nightmares about the cabin and it's really starting to affect me. I have them randomly and they feel so real and I wake up screaming and sweating. Derek, I scared the hell out of my 8-year-old daughter last night." Morgan inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking, "Yeah. I think about it Riley. I just tell myself that it's the past and that I'm okay." Riley snorted in disbelief, "That's it? Come on man. Now you make me feel like a crazy person. You don't talk to anybody?" _Hell no but I need to badly._ "Work and Hank keep me busy." _Stop lying to him Derek._ "How is he?" Morgan smiled wide at the thought of his son, "He's perfect. Happy almost all the time. How are Kendra and Joy?" "Kendra is still working at Loyola. She's not an adjunct professor anymore; she's a full-time Sociology professor. I'm proud of her man…really proud. Joy was just put into the gifted program. She's reading on a middle-school level." "She still want to be a cop?" Morgan asked laughing. "No. Thank God. Now she wants to be an inventor. She says that she wants to be the next George Washington Carver." "She's got big dreams, Dreams that she'll reach with no problem. You're a lucky man to have such an incredible family." Morgan said slightly dejected as he reflected on his own life. Riley noticed the glum look and jumped in with both feet, "Where's sunshine?" "Sunshine?" "The woman that is making you happy. Look man I know about the doctor. This is Chicago and everybody talks. But I'm not talking about her. You've had this cloud over you for a while now. I can see a difference, even though it's small, and I know that it has to be someone other than her." "I'm just in a better place now. You're a firefighter, not a relationship guru." "A firefighter that has known you for far too long." "It's getting late and you need to get home before Kendra kills us both." Riley laughed out right at Morgan, "She must really be special because you are really dodging this question."

Xcoxo

Emily laid back on her large sectional and brought her knees up to an inclined position and settled Hank against her raised thighs. He slumped down with a small thump and now sat right at the top of her thighs with his back and head resting on the rest of her thighs. Emily smiled at him and he laughed. "You are the most beautiful, chubby baby that I've ever seen. Don't tell your daddy but you look cuter than him." Hank had no idea what Emily was talking about but her gentle smile made him giggle. Emily ran a hand over his almond-colored face, over his round cheeks, across his tiny chin riddled with slobber, and down to his little feet that never seemed to stop moving. Emily couldn't help but think about what her unborn child might've looked like now as a teenager. Emily felt the tears well up right before Hank's slobbery hand touched her eye. "You're so sweet…just like your daddy. Maybe one day your daddy and I can be happy and I can spend the rest of my life taking care of my boys." Emily kissed the top of his head and turned him around in her lap before grabbing the remote. "I need to make sure that you have good tastes in movies. We're going to watch Casper, Free Willy, Batman, Aladdin, The Flintstones, and Space Jam. Hopefully you stay awake for at least one of them." Hank blew spit bubbles, but the sound of the opening credits stopped him and demanded his full attention.

Derek wound up staying with Riley for quite some time before they parted from the bar and went their separate ways in the night. Morgan reached into his pocket to check his phone and saw a text from Emily. He stood still to read the message _–Alarm code is 1006. Key is in your back pocket in front of your wallet. Stay the night, I have the room._

Derek smiled to himself and reached in his back pocket to grab the key that he never noticed. "How did she put this in my back pocket? Princess that was very sneaky." Morgan drove back to Emily's place and quietly let himself in. He took his boots off at the door, hoping that it muffled his footsteps across the hardwood floor, and walked into the living room. He expected to see Emily and Hank but all he saw was an empty couch with Aladdin's DVD menu playing on repeat. He nearly tripped over a dog bed that he didn't see but caught his balance and continued on. He climbed the first flight of stairs and saw an ambient light casting a shadow at the top of the landing. Derek peeked his head into the open door and smiled at the sight of Emily fast asleep on her stomach in her large bed with Hank next to her and on his back. Emily's long hair partially obstructed her face, but Morgan could still see her full pink lips. She had a hand lightly resting on his stomach. Hank started to fuss in his sleep and Morgan started moving towards the bed. Emily's movement stopped him as she, with closed eyes, rubbed her hand across his belly until he settled. Hank unconsciously wrapped a hand around her finger and held it close. "She should've been your mom buddy." Morgan whispered as he left Emily's room and headed back down to the living room. He turned Aladdin on but turned the volume down and let the movie lull him to sleep

" _Carl please stop. I won't tell anybody but you're hurting me." "Be quiet boy. Nobody's hurting you. We've done this a million times." "I never wanted to do this!" A hard smack split Derek's lip open while he was forced on his stomach over the arm of the couch. "You want to be somebody right? You want to make a better life for your family right?" Derek cried, "Yes." "So, tell me what I want to hear." Tears burned his face, "Love me Carl. I want you to love me" he managed to get out between sobs._

Morgan felt hands on him and his reflexes caused him to reach out and fight back. Morgan's hand squeezed hard and Emily pulled at his fingers while gasping, "Derek it's me. Derek it's Emily." That seemed to do the trick as his eyes flew open and he keeled over and vomited everywhere. Instead of being repulsed or scared, Emily held him as he body forced his pain out. When he was done, she held him close to her. She could feel the tears falling on her legs. She held him tighter and let a couple of her own fall. "Derek. Come on let's get you clean up." Emily suggested softly, trying to improve the situation. "I can't." "Yes you can. It's not that far to the bathroom." "Emily i—i—I can't." Emily looked down at his lap and noticed that he'd urinated on himself. She didn't draw attention to it but Morgan wouldn't meet her eyes. "Come one Derek. You know you always wanted to take a shower with me." Emily joked and was thankfully rewarded with a small laugh. Helping Morgan up the stairs was a battle. He was resting a lot of his weight on her yet Emily didn't complain and kept going. She guided him into her bathroom and turned the shower on. She turned on the IPOD that she left in her bathroom to a jazz playlist that she knew he liked. Steam started to fill the bathroom and Morgan started to shiver. Emily quietly helped him out of his pants and shirt while turning around to give him some modesty as he removed his underwear. She heard him step into the shower and turned around to pick up all of his clothes as she exited and pulled the door slightly closed. Emily took a quick look at Hank, happy that he was still sound asleep, and rushed downstairs to the laundry room. She started the washer and threw Morgan's clothes inside of it. A sticky feeling on her legs made Emily look down to see that Derek had vomited all over her. She completely stripped down and threw her clothes in the washer as well. Thankfully, she had a leather couch and wooden floors so clean up was relatively easy.

To respect Morgan's privacy, Emily took a quick and thorough shower downstairs before shrugging on an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts that she kept in the laundry room. Emily stopped for a moment to lean against the wall and force her tears down before heading back upstairs to check on Derek. Emily carefully picked Hank up and exited her bedroom and went up her second flight of stairs to another bedroom. It was a nursery/toddler bedroom. Having nephews and babysitting Henry and Jack made Emily prepared for children of all ages at all times. She turned on an extra baby monitor that she had with a camera angled at Hank before kissing his cheek and quietly leaving the room. Emily went back to her room and stopped short when she realized that Derek had nothing to wear. She rummaged through her closet and found a few things of her brother's that she'd kept after they did odd jobs together. She left the basketball shorts and sleeveless shirt on the bathroom counter and went over to her bed. Emily waited in silence for another 30 minutes before the shower cut off. She got relatively comfortable in her bed and waited for him to exit the bathroom. The bathroom door opened and Morgan shuffled out slowly. Emily could see the shame and embarrassment written on his face. She patted the bed next to her, "Don't argue just get in the bed," Emily and Derek locked eyes before he mutely walked over and climbed into the bed. He stayed pretty far away from her, but she didn't care…as long as he was okay. Emily stared at the back of his head until her eyes got heavy.

Emily felt like she'd only been asleep for 20 minutes, it was actually 2 and a half hours, before a breeze crept up her legs and woke her up. Derek wasn't in the bed and she panicked thinking that he left. She jumped out of bed and raced down her steps with the living room as her destination. She didn't see him and took a detour to transfer the clothes to the dryer, and then it clicked that she felt a breeze. _He's on my balcony_. Emily went back to her room, looked at the baby monitor, and tiptoed out on her balcony. Morgan was sat hunched over at the small picnic-like table she put out there. Emily climbed onto the table behind him and wrapped her arms around him after laying her head in-between his shoulder blades. Emily held him for a few minutes before she felt something warm and wet drop on her hand. Emily rotated her body until she was in his lap. Morgan's head rested in the crook of her neck. He suddenly pulled her closer, almost to the point where she couldn't breathe, as the sobs wracked his body. Emily held him just as tight, "It's okay. I promise it's okay. He can't hurt you anymore. I won't let him. I will never let anyone else hurt you. I'm here. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere Derek." Emily kissed his temple and felt him pull away. Emily wiped away his tears. "I'm here Derek and I'm not leaving you." Derek leaned in and kissed her waiting lips. Kissing Emily was everything he'd imagined. Her lips were so soft and inviting. Emily kissed Derek back soundly and hoped that he wasn't kissing her because he was emotional.

They broke away slowly and stared into each other's eyes. Emily got out of his lap and extended her hand to him, "Can we go back to bed now?" "I knew you wanted to get me in the sack Princess." Emily laughed and guided him back into bed. She laid down first and pulled him to her. Morgan rested his head on her stomach and wrapped his left arm around her right shoulder. Emily wrapped her legs around him and burrowed further into her bed. The jazz was still playing in the bathroom and that mixed with their steady heartbeats, calmed Morgan down tremendously. Emily moved the baby monitor to the other nightstand that he was facing and pulled her covers over the both of them. Emily cradled him as watching Hank's peaceful slumber rocked them both to sleep.

XXXXXXXxxxyyyyyyyyyy

Morgan woke up the next morning and panicked when Emily wasn't under him. He looked around to see that he was still at her place before the full weight of his meltdown shuffled through his brain. He felt pathetic and like an overgrown child. He looked at the baby monitor and didn't see Hank but he knew that his son was okay with Emily. He went into her bathroom to handle his business and saw the toothbrush she left for him. When he completed his morning routine, he exited Emily's bedroom and went downstairs. Emily's fur babies ambushed him and knocked him over. He indulged them and gave belly rubs. He left them be and went into the kitchen to see Emily sitting Indian-style on her island with her back to him. She was eating an apple with her eyes glued to the television in her living room with the news on. He saw the still steaming cup of coffee, realizing that she'd just made it for him, as Emily picked up her own and took a long sip before placing it back down on the counter next to her. Morgan drank the amazing coffee and grabbed a bagel before moving over next to Emily. "Morning Princess."

Emily sat unmoving and rarely blinking for a moment before turning her head, biting the apple, and smiling at him. "Morning." Emily's smile was the furthest thing from his mind when he saw the bruise on her neck. The bruise was clear enough for him to make out the shape of fingers. She didn't look like that when he came back to her place last night. _Oh my God! What did I do?_ Emily stupidly forgot to cover it up or at least wear a different shirt. She saw the tears in Derek's eyes. He dropped the bagel on the counter and started to walk off. Emily jumped off the counter and ran across the room to get in-between him and the exit. "Derek stop. Stop. Please look at me." Emily pleaded. Morgan gently grabbed her hands, that were on his chest, and looked into her beautiful face. "I hurt you Emily. I'll never forgive myself." Emily grabbed his face, "It was an accident. You didn't mean it. You could never hurt me. It was an accident. Okay?" Emily asked and waited for his response. At the slight nod, Emily grabbed both of his hands and walked back over to the island. Derek picked her up and placed her on the countertop, earning him a glare. "I'm not handicapped ya know." "I know Princess" he said sweetly as he ran a thumb over her cheekbone. Emily wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles behind his thighs. Derek looked down, "Princess, I have a 90-day rule." Emily laughed out loud and pulled him closer by the shoulders, "Talk to me." Morgan knew exactly what she wanted to talk about and understood now why she wrapped her legs around him like a vine. "I don't want to talk about it." "Tough. Now spill" Emily challenged with a raised brow.

Derek dropped his head until their foreheads met, "It was about Carl. I've been having these nightmares since his last parole hearing. It was postponed because he needed 'medical attention'. The original prosecutor on the case called us a few months ago to warn us that he just might be released because of overpopulation and him being a model citizen. Ever since then, I've been having these horrible flashbacks that leave me waking up screaming. I feel like a coward little boy but they don't stop." "You could've called me. I would've answered with no judgment." Derek hated to see the unsure look on her face, "Emily it wasn't you I promise. I've been lying to myself and my friend Riley. I've been telling myself that it's not affecting me." "But it is." "It is." "Is Riley okay?" "No. He's going through the same stuff but he's just man enough to own it." "Derek you are a man. You are allowed to feel. I know you're not telling me everything. Do you blame yourself? I'm not talking about not reporting it. I'm talking about if you blame yourself for the continuation and escalation." Derek's eyes went wide because Emily was staring into his soul. She knew him better than he knew himself. "Carl would tell me that I wanted it and that it was the right way to be loved. As I got older and stronger, he used force a lot and guilted me with my family. I should've just called his bluff and-" "And what Derek? You were a child and he used that to his advantage. This is not your fault. Would you tell one of the kids we've saved that it was their fault? Of course not. I'm telling you that it was not your fault and what happened to you doesn't make you any less of a man. I love you just the way you are."

Emily wished she had a camera to capture the expression on his face, "You love me Em?" "With my whole heart. I love you past, present, and future. I love you through the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful." Emily was the aggressor this time and crushed her lips to Derek's. Her tongue pushed against the seam of his lips and he granted her access to his mouth. Suddenly, their fused lips slowed down. Emily pulled him closer as they slowly explored each other's mouth. They were forced to part for hair and Emily took the opportunity to shower him with her love. She kissed the crown of his head, both his eyes, his eyebrows, both cheeks, his chin, both ears, and back to his mouth. They shared another soft kiss and Emily moved her kisses down to his neck. When she got to his Adam's apple, his body shuddered and a light ghosting of goosebumps came to the surface. Emily pulled away with a wicked smile, "Looks like I found your spot. Who would've thought?" Emily teased. Morgan's cheeks reddened but his playboy charm came out, "Wait until I find yours." Morgan nipped at Emily's face in the same manner that she did, "Where's Hank?" "in the rocker probably watching us when he should be watching Jimmy Neutron." "Jimmy Neutron? You trying to turn him into a nerd?" "Have you seen these so-called cartoons? No thank you." Morgan and Emily turned to indeed see Hank clapping his hands and smiling at them. Emily pecked Derek's cheek before going for his Adam's apple again, "Looks like someone approves." Derek forced his eyes open and looked down at Emily, "You keep doing that and I'll retaliate." Emily smiled wide and him before going towards the refrigerator, "Promises promises."

 **A/N: Alarm code is the month and year Emily joined the team.**


	8. Chapter 8

Emily woke up to wet licks on her back. She smiled and reached a hand back, "Derek licking my back is not foreplay." "Good to know" Derek said with a smile. His distant voice let Emily know that he wasn't the one licking her back. She turned around and laughed at her fur babies attempting to wake her up. "Where are you going?" Emily asked as she sat up in bed and looked at a fully-dressed Morgan near the bedroom door. "I was um-" "Going nowhere." Emily made a show of slowly getting out of bed and going in the direction of her bathroom. Morgan tried to kiss her but she dodged it and sprinted into the bathroom. "I don't care what Rom-coms say, morning breath is not sexy." Morgan laughed at her reasoning, "Princess, I'm sure your breath is fine." "Lies. You can leave that charm in Southside." "Hey, don't hate on Southside Charm School. They have quite the successful rate." "You'd know" Emily muttered but not quiet enough because Morgan heard her. He opened the bathroom door and Emily turned to him with a mouth full of foamy, white toothpaste as he closed the distance between them. Morgan grabbed her at the waist, turned her around, and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Mmm minty." Emily laughed out loud at him before turning his head to show him his reflection in the mirror. Morgan wiped the toothpaste away and kissed the top of her head.

"You hungry Em?" "You can cook?" Emily asked in a teasing manner. "I am more than just a pretty face." Emily smiled and turned to start the shower. "Yes I'm hungry. Wow me with your culinary skills. The donor milk is in the red pitcher and there are more pouches in the freezer if it's not enough." Morgan nodded his head but couldn't tear his eyes from Emily. Emily tested the water, pulled her hair into a messy bun, and took off her shirt before feeling Morgan's eyes burning holes into her back. She turned her head and gave him a coy smile, "I thought that you were making me breakfast or are you conceiting defeat?" Morgan looked at the glint in her eye and the sly smile on her face. He pressed his chest to her back and felt her breath hitch. He never looked down but reached his hands around her waist and lowered her shorts off her hips. "Nobody likes a tease Em" Derek whispered in her ear as he nibbled on the lobe. Emily pressed her backside into his pelvis and stifled a moan at feeling him grow hard against her. She leaned her head back and rested it on his shoulder, "I promise the wait will be worth it. I'll have you whipped but in the meantime, can you top my waffles off with blueberries and whipped cream?" Morgan bent his head to kiss her lips, "Sure thing beautiful."

Emily stepped into the shower happy with the route her relationship with Morgan was taking. Morgan fed the dogs, settled Hank into the highchair to take a bottle, and started on making breakfast. He was really impressed with how much Emily got done with the house. He wondered if she'd let him help with the rest. Right now, his biggest obstacle with Emily was talking about his nightmares. As he finished their breakfast, he heard Emily coming downstairs and into the kitchen. She immediately went over to Hank, who was just as eager to see her, and spun him around after she turned on some music. Morgan watched as she danced with him as if she'd been doing it forever. Emily snapped him out of his trance when she kissed his cheek and grabbed her plate. "Thank you." "Anytime Princess. Now let me take little man off your hands so that you can eat in peace." Emily's pout was adorable but she let him take Hank off her hands.

Emily enjoyed her breakfast in silence as Morgan tried not to stare at her as things were racing through his mind. Emily felt his eyes on her but remained quiet and opted to let him start talking when he felt like it. "Ugh someone made a stinky." Morgan said as he sniffed Hank before leaving to change him. Emily finished the last delicious bite of her waffles and clean her dishes in the sink. She walked into her living room and turned the news up as she started to go through her mail. Derek wrapped an arm around her waist, causing her to jump, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You okay Em?" "Yeah, just got sidetracked going through all this mail." Emily went and sat on the couch and ripped open an envelope. "Emily?" Emily looked up at the sound of her name and set the envelope down in her lap. "We need to talk. We need to clear the air." "My air is completely clear so what are you talking about?" "Emily come on. The nightmares that I've been having." Emily stretched her legs out and Derek rested her feet in his lap. "Derek you should know by now that I won't force you to tell me something. You need to be comfortable enough and trust me enough to want to tell me. I won't force your hand and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk." "Emily I don't know where to start. Buford's abuse has had a massive effect on me for years now. I've slept with everything with a pulse in my 20s to prove to myself that I wasn't gay. Then it became sleeping around with women that I knew nothing would happen with. I intentionally bar hopped because I couldn't stand anyone getting close to me." "What changed?" "You did Emily. When you came on the team, I had no idea that you'd matter this much to me. You got under every defense that I spent years building by just being you. I had no idea that I'd fall madly in love with my partner, my best friend. You threw a monkey wrench into my life. Instead of acting on it, I made a coward move and never said anything." Emily pulled her legs back and sat up on her knees. "Why didn't you make a move?" Derek leaned over and held Emily's chin between his thumb and index finger, "Because you are way to good for me. You have always been the very definition of 'out of my league' and I couldn't risk losing my best friend on a hope that you felt the same about me." Emily blushed and hid a small smile.

She climbed into his lap and held his face between her hands, "You wouldn't have lost me." The two sat like that for a couple minutes before Emily spoke again and reached into his pocket to grab his phone. She held it out to him, "Now you need to make things right….with Penelope." Morgan's face fell and he knew she was right. He grabbed the phone and dialed Garcia's number. Emily got off his lap to give him some privacy. Emily knew that she had her own important phone calls to make. Emily paced back and forth in her home office before grabbing her own cellphone and pressing her #3 speed dial. The phone rang six times before the other end picked up.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Rossi's groggy voice broke the silence. Emily's eyes unintentionally filled with tears and she tried fanning them away. "Rossi, you have a minute to talk?"


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: This is an AU story. Some details will remain similar but certain things that happened in the show may NOT happen in this story. Purely a work of my imagination and quite an emotional rollercoaster. Ages of characters are altered.**_

"What's wrong Bella?" Rossi asked as his voice became clearer and he sat up on his couch. Emily let out a long breath. "I need to tell you something and I just want to keep it between us." "Of course Cara, you know I'd never betray your trust. Take a load off, It will stay between us." Emily shook her head, knowing he couldn't see her, and tucked her legs underneath her body as she leaned back against the wall. "I'm not in London right now. I'm in Chicago and I've been here for a little while. I left London and I haven't looked back. I'm starting up and Human Trafficking Unit but that's not my main priority. I'm rambling—oh God when I ramble you know—" "Emily." Dave chided softly, "Slow down, I'm not going anywhere. Just take your time and talk to me." Emily blew out a breath and took a minute to compose her thoughts, "My dad's best friend was Morgan's dad. When he died, my family went to shambles. We all buried our feelings and our behaviors showed it. My dad stayed hidden behind work and found solace in cars, which was one of their favorite things to work on. My mom refused to stop taking assignments and would raise hell if she was assigned stateside. My brother got really reckless and it took him awhile to come back from that. My sister was determined to pretend that she didn't know her own family and she never came around."

"You have siblings?" Emily smacked a hand on her forehead, "I forgot that you guys didn't know about my siblings. Yes, I have a twin brother, Milo, and an older sister Lisa. I'm an aunt to three great boys" Emily answered with hesitation in her voice. Rossi picked up on that immediately, "But that's not all? Something else you want to add?" Emily groaned and muttered 'profilers' before speaking up. "When I was about 22, before any agency swooped me up, I met a man. At the time, he was a really good guy…or so I thought. He told me that he was finishing his undergraduate career at USC. I was on a spring break trip in Barbados with some of my friends. We partied together, did drugs, drank, and so many other things that I am ashamed of before that whirlwind week came to an end. He played me and another girl that was going to school at Loyola-New Orleans. He was actually a married 30-something year-old that had three kids and another on the way. I felt like a fool and once again I got myself into a bad situation."

Rossi could hear Emily's shaky breaths and an uneasy but all too familiar chill went over him. "He got you pregnant?" "Yes he did. She and I, Leslie, met up for the first time in rehab. I didn't know I was pregnant and I was still popping pills and doing cocaine. My dad got worried because I hadn't visited in months, so he used all his contacts to find me. I'll never forget him kicking the door open and watching me snort a line of coke with tears in his eyes. I didn't care about dying but my dad forced me into rehab. We both found out that we were pregnant during our intake process. She was there for drinking." "Emily…did you have the baby?" "I was too far along to have an abortion. I don't know what I did to deserve a healthy daughter but I was lucky enough to have her. Leslie and I gave birth a month apart. My daughter was late and her son was early."

"How old is she? What's her name?" "Her name is Javicia and she's about to turn 21. Leslie's son, Koa, is the same age." "Do they stay in contact with one another?" "Um yeah they do. When they were about 7, Leslie saw our spring break fling Malachi in an airport in Nashville. She talked to him and told him about Koa. He told her that she was lying and that they just had a good time. He told her that the only children he had was with his wife and if she didn't leave him alone, then he'd get a restraining order. She never got over him and decided that she didn't want to live anymore." "She committed suicide?" "Yes. She killed herself on Koa's birthday. Ever since, I try to make sure that he doesn't focus on his mother's death on his birthday."

"Did he go into the system?" "No. I took him in. I felt some weird sort of responsibility because she had no other family. Technically, I have two 21-year-old children. They've been at a private school in Hawaii for years. They knew how the job was with the BAU, so it wasn't that hard on them. It was always harder on me because I only saw them on school breaks and vacations from the job." "Why didn't you tell us about them? Does Declan know your other two children?" "Yes he does. Javicia is not his biggest fan, so Koa plays the buffer. Why didn't I tell you guys? Probably the same reason that none of you know that I have siblings…you're all world-class profilers and giving up one detail unravels all of the pieces of my past. Had that assignment with Doyle not gone haywire, I wouldn't have had to hide my children. It was a mess and I regretted even being brought in. I have an aunt and uncle that live in Diamondhead, so it made sense to let Javi and Koa be with them. My aunt was a Marine and my uncle was a Navy SEAL. I hated not telling you guys once we got closer but they didn't want to meet any of you. They didn't trust any team I worked with because of what happen with Interpol and Doyle."

"Are we ever going to meet them?" "Javi has finally given in. She wants to meet the BAU family that I can't stop talking about. That and they probably want to sucker gifts out of all of you for their impending graduation and 21 birthdays." "Well you won't be able to stop Garcia." Emily gnawed on her bottom lip, "I know. Can you maybe help me tell them? Javi and Koa are visiting soon for fall break and I feel like it's time to tell everybody the absolute truth." "Of course, I'll help you." Rossi pulled the phone from his head at the blaring sound of his alarm clock. "That would be my alarm. I need to get ready and head into the office." "I'm sorry if I woke you." "Emily you know we don't sleep on this job. I'll talk to you soon okay?" "Okay." "Tell Morgan that I say hello and that I'll let him know if we need him." "How did?" "World-class profiler remember?" Emily chuckled as she ended the call.

She was about to get up when Koa's smiling face next to hers lit the screen of her phone up. "Hey baby." "Hey Mom. Have you cleared your head yet?" "Getting there. What's wrong?" "Dec is on his way here. Before you say it, I won't miss my flight but he wants to meet up before I leave to come see you. I kind of need you help me talk Javi into coming." "Absolutely not! The last time you put the both of them in a room…it was chaos and pandemonium in the Swiss Alps. If you want to meet up with Dec, then do so but do not force your sister in a room with someone she doesn't like." "Aunt Gloria says that Javi gets her temper from you." "Ignore your aunt. Don't miss your flight Koa." "I won't. I promise. I love you mom and I can't wait to meet your friends." "I Love you too baby."

 _New text message from: Javicia_

 _Switched my flight to an earlier time. Going to Club Masquerade with Cheyenne and Kimora. I'll be on Koa's flight after all. I'll make sure he doesn't miss it even if I have to drag him by his hair. I'll check in so that you don't send the National Guard after me. Love you and can't wait to give my momma kisses._

Emily smiled and replied back. 'Don't cause bodily harm to your brother. Can't wait to give my baby girl kisses either'. Emily looked at her phone and ran a hand through her hair before mumbling. "Now time to tell Derek." Emily walked back into the living room to wait for Morgan's call to end. Morgan frustrated sighs let her know that Garcia was lighting into him. Emily checked the other rooms, making sure that Koa and Javi's new rooms mirrored their old ones in Alexandria. Emily was nervous and felt her forehead start sweating. She was so engrossed in her panic that she didn't hear the footsteps on the stairs or notice his presence until he wrapped his arms around her. "You know Em, there are a lot of rooms in this house." "Yeah, they're 8 with 4 bathrooms. I just wanted to be sure that everyone would be comfortable." "What are you going to do with the other wing?" "I haven't decided yet." "You want some help?" "Sure."

Derek walked them both back towards the stairs, "Speaking of people…" "We weren't speaking of people Derek." "You have a lot of pictures of you and some kids. Are they yours?" Emily felt the sweat covering her brow, "What makes you think that?" "Well I can obviously see that they're bi-racial. White…" "Ghanaian, White, and Hawaiian." "Thanks for clearing that up. The girl has your eyes and your smile. She even has that one dimple like you. The boy has your face structure. So, are they yours?"

Emily rubbed her damp hands against her thighs. "Yes they are and it's a very long story." "I have time baby and I want to know so that I can understand better and at least meet them one day." Emily bit her lip, "The meeting them will be really soon because they'll be in 2 days. The story basically needs to happen now." "So tell me. I want to know it all."

 **A/N: Two options for next chapter: Emily telling Derek the story or moving on to another topic.**


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: This chapter will be two short separate ones. They were two requests for this story as was the previous chapter. Please leave a review on which option for this chapter you guys prefer and I will continue on in that direction and alter the previous chapter if necessary.**_

 _ **Option #1:**_

Emily walked over to couch and patted the leather as they both sat down. Morgan sat down next to Emily and waited for her to speak. "When I was in college, I got pretty wild. I'm not talking about typical college-girl partying…I was really wild. I used drugs and drank a lot. Derek, baby I was hooked on pills and cocaine. I drank a lot and partied heavy. I was on a spring break trip and I met a guy while I was out of town in Barbados. We slept together and I got pregnant. He did the same to another girl on spring break from Loyola. I didn't know I was pregnant and I was still doing cocaine. My dad forced me into rehab and that's when Leslie and I met again. We gave birth a month apart. I had a daughter and she had a son. We chose to keep our kids relatively close; Leslie saw him at an airport in Nashville. She was still hung up on him and I couldn't care less about that bastard. He wouldn't acknowledge her or his son and she committed suicide when he was a kid. I felt obligated to raise him. Technically, I have two almost 21-year-olds, Javicia and Koa. They, um, never wanted to meet you guys because they didn't trust anyone that I worked with since Clyde and Sean. Now, they are willing to meet you guys and I'm not sure how that will go. When I came to the BAU, I let them stay in Hawaii with my aunt and uncle because they were already settled."

Morgan remained quiet for the duration of Emily's story. He could see the regret, hesitation, and even the tears shining in her brown eyes. "When do they want to meet us? Do they know about this…us?" Emily tugged her bottom lip through her teeth. "I haven't told them about us because this just started like last night and this morning. They'll be here tomorrow. It's a family dinner for my folks moving back to the city. Don't be surprised if they try to sucker gifts out of you or if they grill the hell out of you." Morgan reached a hand out and brushed his knuckles against her chin. "Look at me Emily." He waited for her to make eye contact with him, "I am not mad at you for not saying anything. 3 or more years ago…maybe I would've been. But as a parent now, I know you were doing what you had to in order to protect your kids. I think that makes you one hell of a mother. I'm happy to meet your children and I don't care if they sucker me out of gifts." "Why not?" "Because I know that you'll spoil the hell out of Hank given the chance so I don't mind doing the same. Hopefully, they like us because I'd hate to have to sneak out the balcony and down the side of your house." Emily laughed and leaned into Morgan with her head rested in his lap, "Javi will give you hell but Koa is rather tame." "Who's the oldest? Javicia?" Emily shook her head and chuckled, "Guess again. Koa's the oldest." Morgan and Emily sat and listened to the quiet buzzing of the wind whistling outside until Hank woke up and started fussing. "He must be hungry. Let me get up and get him." Emily moved and let Derek get up to grab Hank. She sat quietly and heard him speaking in a childlike tone to Hank. "I know how much you like Emily but I have a little surprise for you. Emily has two kids and I'm pretty sure that you can win them over with that smile. You have daddy's smile-" "An hopefully he doesn't learn daddy's modesty" Emily teased as she wrapped her hands around his torso.

(The next day)

Javicia sipped on her piping hot coffee as she rolled her eyes at her brother's haphazard packing of his carry-on with all the contents pouring out. Koa wasn't paying her any attention and kept drumming his fingers to the loud bass pounding in his earphones. Javicia smacked him upside the head making him yelp and grab his head in pain. "What in the hell is wrong with you Javi?" "Who taught you how to pack? It sure wasn't mom. If this is your carry-on, I shudder to think about how bad you packed your suitcase." "You had to hit me just to say something like that?" "No I didn't, but I chose to. What do you think is going on with mom?" Koa ran a hand through his long curly hair, "What makes you think something is wrong with mom?" "I don't know. I expected her to be more happy about us finally wanting to meet her friends but she just seems distracted." "Maybe she's dating someone." Koa stood up and grabbed his bag before nodding his head in the direction of the departure gate. Javicia got up and slung her carry-on over her shoulder, "What do you know? What did she tell you?" "Nothing. Can we get on the plane before we miss it? Just ask mom what's going on when we land." The rest of their trip was met with ignoring one another and listening to their earbuds. They arrived at O'Hare and took a car that Ambassador Prentiss sent for them. The driveway was a bit bumpy, but their attention was aimed at the house. Koa pouted as he looked out the window, "Mom said she was going to wait before she finished the treehouse." Javicia laughed, "Are you sure you're 20? Mom gets restless which is why she finished the treehouse. There's still plenty left to do and that's not the main issue?" "What's the main issue then?" Javicia turned Koa's face out the window, "Who's Tahoe is that?"

Emily was in the kitchen slicing fruit when she heard the front door open. Emily looked at Hank and gave a wide smile that he returned before the voices got closer. Javicia turn the corner first, running directly into Emily's open arms, "Mommy! I missed you so much. The island would be so much better with you there, but I can force myself to adjust to the Windy city." Emily laughed and hugged her tighter. Emily released her daughter and pulled Koa into a tight hug. "Hi my baby boy. I missed you." "Mom I'm not a baby." Javicia snorted, "Please. You were just whining about the treehouse."

"Emily have you-" Morgan stopped mid-sentence when he walked into the kitchen. For the first time, Javicia averted her eyes and they zeroed in on Hank. Koa's brows scrunched together, "Mom, who's this?" Emily cleared her throat and picked up Hank. "Javi and Koa, this is Derek and Hank. Derek, as you guys know, was my partner when I worked at the BAU. Hank is his little boy." Javicia wasn't impressed; a cold glare washed over her features before she said, "I assume that by the calm manner in which 'Derek' waltzed in here that you two are more than just friends. Derek, how long have you been banging my mother?"

 _ **(Option 2)**_

 _Derek walked them both back towards the stairs, "Speaking of people…" "We weren't speaking of people Derek." "You have a lot of pictures of you and some kids. Are they yours?" Emily felt the sweat covering her brow, "What makes you think that?" "Well I can obviously see that they're bi-racial. White…" "Ghanaian, White, and Hawaiian." "Thanks for clearing that up. The girl has your eyes and your smile. She even has that one dimple like you. The boy has your face structure. So, are they yours?"_

 _Emily rubbed her damp hands against her thighs. "Yes they are and it's a very long story." "I have time baby and I want to know so that I can understand better and at least meet them one day." Emily bit her lip, "The meeting them will be really soon because they'll be here in 2 days. The story basically needs to happen now." "So tell me. I want to know it all."_

Emily woke up with a start. She put a hand over her chest and tried to slow her breathing. She glanced back over her shoulder and looked at Morgan's still form. Emily watched the rise and fall of his chest as one arm was over his face and the other was under her pillow. Emily slowly got out of bed and walked downstairs to her office. She quietly turned on the computer and opened a file. Emily scrolled through the file and stopped when she came across a picture. Tears clouded her vision and she reached out to touch the computer screen. "I miss you so much Leslie. I know I made a promise to you and I'm going to keep it now that the kids are older. I won't let you down again." Emily's eyes stayed focused on the picture of three figures. Emily gave a watery smile as she looked at a younger Koa and Javicia and a happier Leslie. Emily's office phone rang and she swiped it up quickly before the sound woke up Morgan.

"Emily? You there?" Rossi asked. Emily snuck a glance at her office door before turning around in her chair and putting the phone to her ear. "Yes, I'm here." "Are you sure it's a good time. Isn't it like 3 am your time?" "I'm fine Rossi." "Well, I've been looking into that case that you asked me about. The trail ran cold with the lead I thought I had. I may have found another one but that will take some time to do. There were two children interviewed but never actually put into the case file. There was a little boy and a little girl according to the responding officer's notes. Emily is there something you want to tell me?"

Before Emily could respond, she heard heavy footsteps. She logged out of the computer and abruptly hung the phone up just as Morgan started calling out to her. She sprinted out of her office and ran right into his chest. "Whoa slow down Princess. What's the rush?" "Nothing. I…I just thought that something was wrong with Hank." "No, he's fine. I was looking for you. Your phone was ringing, did you not hear it?" "No. I was down here on going through the voicemails on my office phone." "Well there was someone named Javi calling you. She's beautiful by the way." Emily looked at him confused, so he explained, "Her contact picture was of the two of you. You okay Em?" "Yeah. I'm fine. Did she call more than once?" "She called twice so I brought you your phone in case it was important." Emily reached for the phone. "Thanks. You can go back to bed. I'll be back in a minute." Derek knew something was wrong with her, but he nodded his head and went back to bed.

Emily unlocked her phone and went to her call log to return Javicia's call. The phone rang three times before it picked up. "Javi? You okay?" "I need to talk to you. We need to talk to you. In person." "Ok. I can try and fly out as soon as possible." "You don't have to do that. We'll be there tomorrow." Emily couldn't respond, "Is that okay? It's a really important conversation." Emily shook her head, "Of course. I'll see the two of you tomorrow." Emily blew out a breath and headed back to her bedroom. "Derek can you sit up please so that we can talk?" Morgan did as asked and sat up in bed. Emily's cell started ringing and she saw Rossi's face on the screen. "Why is Rossi calling you Em?" "That's what I need to talk to you about."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I chose Option 1 for this next chapter. Just a short chapter while I filter through prompts.**

"Javi!" Emily scolded at her daughter. Javicia didn't flinch nor did she remove her hard stare from Morgan. He was uncomfortable under her scrutiny, "Javicia and Koa I love your mother deeply and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. To answer your question, we are not sleeping together. We just…reconnected." Morgan finished with a look at Emily. Emily just stared at him with adoration and her heart burst with love for her boyfriend. Koa decided to interrupt the awkward vibe in the room, "So Hank is yours? Where's his mom?" Koa asked as the little guy reached up for him. Koa didn't notice his question going unanswered as he picked the chubby baby up. Javicia finally cut her eyes from Morgan and muttered out, "His mother is right here, same as yours." Emily shot a warning look at Javicia.

"Javi, baby can we talk in my office?" Emily motioned, not giving room for argument, with her hand to another room. Javicia followed her mother and left the males in the kitchen. Emily closed the door behind the two of them a little harder than necessary. Emily turned to face her daughter with anger simmering in her brown eyes. "Javi that was completely uncalled for! What the hell was that? You throw a cheap shot at Derek? In front of Hank! You have never acted like this before. So, what is it?" Javicia unfolded her arms and slammed her hands down on the desk, "Everything mom! I've never been like this because you've never kept a relationship from me before. Since when is he Derek? It's always been Morgan. Sorry that I had to point out the obvious in front of a baby but he's not exactly old enough to talk in sentences is he?"

Javicia took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. She felt horrible that she was this upset because she's never raised her voice at her mother. "Mom I am all for you being happy but doesn't this seem rush to you? You don't think that maybe you have blinders on because of his son? Mom, please look at me." Javicia waited until Emily looked up before walking closer to her. Javicia cradled her mother's face between her hands. "Mom you can't handle another broken heart. I can't handle watching you go through another heartbreak. I am tired of watching you get treated like scum by the people you let in and care about. Mom I won't let another person hurt you. You're my world and hell will have to freeze over before I watch another person hurt you." Emily let a tear slip before pulling her daughter in for a tight hug.

"Javi, baby I'm okay I promise. This thing with Derek is brand-new. I've been in love with him a lot longer than I want to admit. He wouldn't try to hurt me. I would probably end up hurting him. I am so sorry that you've had to see me in some rough spots, but I do not have blinders on. Hank is a beautiful little boy who will probably have the same giant heart as his dad. This team—my old team—weren't like the ones from Interpol. That team was a mess from the beginning. The BAU was and is a family. I wouldn't put you in a spot of meeting them if I thought that they had a motive. Baby I know that you're just looking out for your mom but this time, I'm okay. I have a good feeling about Derek." Javicia let her mother's words sink in and they both took a moment to collect themselves.

Outside of the office, Koa and Morgan migrated from the kitchen to the living room. Hank got Koa wrapped around his finger in a matter of minutes. Morgan silently watched the two of them surrounded by a mess of toys on the floor. Morgan's attention was focused on the office when he heard yelling. He immediately went on the defense and went into a striking stance. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It'll simmer down, but if you go barging in there then they'll both attack you" Koa said without bothering to look at Morgan. Morgan sat back down on the couch and chuckled to himself when the yelling did simmer down. He nodded his head in that direction, "Are they always like that?"

Koa shook his head yes and gave Hank the small toy train, "Yeah. They are both opinionated and hot tempered. Mom pretends that Javi isn't just like her. Javi pretends that she's the opposite of mom. You'll get used to it if you choose to stick around." "I do." Koa paused at Morgan's snippy comment. "No need to bite my head off man. Sticking around this family can be an Olympic sport. Javi will give you and your family the blues; she wants to make sure that mom isn't putting her heart out there and having it backfire."

Morgan nodded his head in understanding. He could never hurt Emily and he knows that she could never hurt him or Hank. Morgan's biggest fear was that he would wind up failing Emily and his son. He felt his chest constrict as he thought about not being able to be there for the two most important people in his life. He shook that thought from his head and focused on Koa. "You mentioned who Javicia would be gunning for but you didn't mention you. What about you?" "Look man my mom is a big girl and she wouldn't have you around if she didn't trust you. Now me, I'm only concerned with your team. I want to dig deeper on them…not interrogate you to death." Koa looked up at Emily and Javi, who were back in the kitchen staring at them, and smirked to Morgan. "That look means that Javi wants to talk to you alone. Welcome to the gauntlet and steer clear of the balconies."

Emily threw a banana a Koa, who promptly started to eat it, "Stop laughing and go get settled in your room." "Yes ma'am" Koa said depositing Hank in her arms and kissing her cheek. Emily waited until Koa was nearly out the room before throwing over her shoulder, "I hoped you packed that suitcase right. Don't pretend like I didn't teach you how to do so."


	12. Chapter 12

"How long have you been in love with my mom?" Javi asked as she watched his body language. She noted that even though his words were confident, his actions sure weren't. Javi didn't know the specifics but she figured that the insecurity had to do with Hank's mom. Morgan tried to hide his apprehension when it came to talking about Emily but he was sitting right across from a carbon copy of her. Javicia had her mother's intense brown eyes and kind nature. She also had an aura about her that made you tell her everything. Morgan cleared his throat, "Honestly, I never wanted to fall in love with her, but I couldn't help it. Your mother is an incredible woman and I really wanted us to remain friends because she was and has been the most genuine person towards me. She calls me out and wants me to do better. I guess having the thought in my head that she wouldn't like this or that kept me on a somewhat straight path. You have an incredible mother."

Javicia leaned back in her chair and decided not to beat around the bush, "So why didn't you tell her that you had a kid?" Morgan's shocked expression solidified what she already suspected. "Look, I know you didn't tell my mom because she tells us basically everything. She didn't tell us about you because she wanted us to give you a fair shake. After her past relationships, she knew that we would have a problem with you. Me and Koa's dad was and is a bastard. We know about Doyle…knew from the beginning and I still want to kill him myself. She had a handful of boyfriends since then and they all broke her heart. She was protecting you by not telling us. What happened so bad with Hank's mom that you couldn't tell your best friend about him?" Morgan cleared his throat and chose his next words carefully. "Savannah…I chose to be with her because I thought that I'd lost your mom for good and I was lonely. It was a bad idea from the beginning. I should've known when she couldn't get along with my team that something was wrong, but I kept dating her. A part of me always wanted Emily to be the mother of my children and the woman I marry, but I messed that up. Savannah has never even met my family…I don't know…I guess my subconscious knew that it was a bad idea. When Savannah got pregnant, I didn't know if my son was mine or someone else's because she was cheating on me. I didn't know that your mom was back in the States. I just finally told her truth about everything and she accepted the both of us with open arms."

Javicia blink away the tears that were welling up, "That's who she is. She accepts everyone without reservations. Look, I'm really sorry about what happened between you and Savannah but there is an upside. Had it not gone down the way it did, then you probably wouldn't be with my mom. My mom left Interpol mostly because of us but also because she felt like she wasn't making a difference anymore and she just wanted a simpler life. I'm not going to tell you that I won't be apprehensive about you, but I will tell you that I won't give you such a hard time anymore. It's obvious that you and my mom care for one another and her happiness matters to me." Morgan gave a soft simple, "I really appreciate that. I promise not to do anything to purposely hurt your mom." Javicia laughed, "Do you think that worries me? If you hurt her, she'll do all the dirty work and I'll just help her hide the body. I do have one question. Are we worthy of meeting your family?" Morgan let out a laugh, "Yes, you guys can meet my family although your family already knows mine."

Javicia's eyebrows knitted together, "What do you mean they know your family? My family hasn't been in Chicago for decades. When they were here, my grandpa lost his best friend. I think his name was Hank or something like that. Wait—are you related to-?" "Hank Morgan was my father. Our families go way back but I never knew about your mom until very recently. I knew that your grandad had kids, I just didn't know that one of them was Emily." "This is a small world, isn't it?" Morgan laughed, "Yeah it's tiny. Are we…are we good?" Javicia got up and walked towards the sliding door. "We're good."

Emily changed Hank into a onesie just so that he'd be comfortable while he played. She wondered what Derek and Javi were still talking about but opted not to say anything or bother them. In her mind, they both needed to have this discussion. Emily left Hank in the playpen and went upstairs to check on Koa. When she reached his bedroom, she just stood in the doorway watching him…the same way she did when he was a little boy. Emily thought back to the times that she would have to catch herself just to stop watching her son like a creep. She couldn't help it because he had been through so much but still remained her sweet little boy. Now, he was practically outgrowing having a need for her and it was ripping her apart. On one hand, Emily was grateful that she raised independent children, yet she also desperately wanted them to need her the way they did growing up.

"Mom, I can feel you burning holes in the back of my head. What's up?" Koa asked as he finally turned around. Emily's lip quivered, "You guys have done so much growing up without me. I've missed so much and-" Koa walked across the room and cradled his mother's face in his hands. "Mom, you were there for all the important stuff. How you managed that with your work schedule I'll never know. Did you really want to present for school suspensions and breakdowns?" "I should've been! I'm a mom. I don't get to pick the good days. I'm supposed to be there for it all." "Mom please listen to me. You stepped up to raise me when you didn't have to. You gave me a shot at a normal life instead of bouncing around foster care. You have made more sacrifices for us that you realize. If we stayed with you instead of being in Hawaii, then we might've resented you. Every single moral and value that we have…you taught us. We have never truly been without you because your voice is in my head every time I have a decision to make. I had a good mom, fortunately, I got an even better replacement. Javi and I wouldn't be who we are without you. You are the reason that we are the young adults that we are. You taught us how to love, forgive, handle disappointments, bask in successes, work hard, and enjoy every day as if it's our last. You have to stop doubting yourself. We will need you in some capacity for the rest of our lives, so trust me when I say that we are not outgrowing you. We are growing up for you."

Emily felt a tear trickle out of her eye, "I love you my baby boy." "I love you too Mom." Emily wiped away the tear and cleared her throat, "What do you think about Derek?" Koa gave Emily her own signature smirk right back, "I think that whatever went down between him and Hank's mom made him see the error of his ways. I think that the two of you needed to find each other again. I think that for once, I'm not extremely worried about his motives when it comes to you. The only thing that I want is for you to be happy and to grill your friends. I'll leave your love life to Javi but your friends are my concern. I need to know that the people in your corner are legit." Emily hugged Koa and kissed the top of his head, "I love you so much Koa." "I love you too Mom." A knock on the door got their attention, "Not to break up the Lifetime moment here but Derek's mom called and wanted to know if dinner was okay. I guess she just thinks that he's here with you and not us." Javicia said. Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I guess some of the introductions will be made early. Can you tell Derek that it's a good idea and that they can come over tonight. We'll just have dinner with our family tomorrow."

 **A/N: Dinner with the Morgans and Prentiss' is the next chapter. The one after that is centered on the team with the possibility of Emily and Morgan taking their relationship to the next level.**


	13. Chapter 13

Emily flopped back on the bed in exhaustion as the day finally caught up to her. She managed to drive herself and everyone in her house crazy with her running around. She was far more uptight than she thought but no one said anything. Javicia pretended not to notice how her mother was trying to make everything perfect for a dinner that wasn't going to take place until the next day. She thought that Emily would be happy that the dinner was pushed to the next night, but she became more frazzled. Koa steered clear of his mother and sister. He knew that Javicia hadn't told their mom about her possible plans after graduation and he was sure that their family would lose it. He had hoped that coming to Chicago would change her mind, but his sister was just as stubborn as his mom. Koa waited until Javi was up her room before talking to her.

Javicia could feel Koa's presence, so she didn't bother turning around. "Where's Hank?" "Playing with his dad I guess. I left them downstairs in the living room." Javicia pulled her hair up and found an elastic to keep it that way. She sat down at the top of her bed and patted the mattress. Koa closed her door almost all the way and made his way over to the bed. Javi studied his body language the same way that his mom always did. "So, where's mom?" she asked as she looked for her laptop and charger. "Hopefully, she's on her way to relaxing and going to sleep. Why is she so wound up about this dinner?" Javi let out a breath, "She's wound up because our family has a lot of guilt surrounding Hank Morgan's death back in the day. Mom doesn't want to make anyone feel bad by bringing up a bad memory. She's also dating her partner, which will be news to everyone…our family and his. That same partner has a son with an absent mother that we don't have any information on. When you put all those variables in the same room…cue mom's freak-out." Koa nodded at her and looked around her room. He got up and went towards the pictures posted on her pegboard. Javi logged into her computer and checked her emails. When she got annoyed with the silence she said, "Why don't you just ask instead of thinking of ways to beat around the bush." Koa turned around and looked at her, "When are you going to tell mom that you have an interest in police work?" "Why is that necessary?" "Seriously? You have had at least one meeting with the FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security, and probably even the Pentagon. Why shouldn't mom know that?" "First of all, it wasn't the Pentagon. It was an Interpol representative. Second, why tell her when I haven't made a decision. When do you plan on telling her your dirty little secret since you love being in my business?" Javicia glared at him before continuing, "Oh so when it's you, everything is off-limits?"

Derek was heading to Emily's bedroom after putting Hank down in the nursery Emily had upstairs. He heard bits and pieces of Javi and Koa's conversation, but he moved away quickly not wanting to invade their privacy. He didn't plan on mentioning to Emily that her daughter was interested in police work nor that her son also had a secret. He knocked on Emily's door and closed it behind him after he entered. She looked stressed and frazzled, so he turned on the Derek Morgan charm in hopes of cheering her up. Emily looked up at him, faking a smile, before throwing herself back once more. Derek climbed into bed next to her and ran his fingers through her hair. "Am I really all over the place because of this dinner?" Emily whined out. Derek traced her jawline with his index finger, "Yes but it's okay. You really don't have to worry. My family is taken with you. What can I do to make you feel better?" "Something erotic."

Morgan's surprise made Emily laugh but it quickly turned into a moan when he started nipping at her jaw. He leaned in to claim her lips in a sensual dance. Emily let Morgan control the kiss, but she pulled away to ask, "Hank?" "Asleep." Emily looked at the baby monitor and turned it around before resuming the kiss. Morgan kissed and nibbled his way to Emily's ear and rasped out, "Tonight's about you Princess. I am going to worship this perfect body of yours." Emily looked at him with complete adoration, "Don't let me stop you." Morgan pulled Emily to a sitting position and lifted her shirt over her head. He peppered her chest with wet kisses as he reached behind her to unclasp the dark green bra she was wearing. His mouth watered at the sight of her perky, full breasts. Morgan, being a red-blooded man, noticed that over the years Emily's bust had grown. He chalked it up to her weight settling there first before going everywhere else. Her nipples grew hard and puckered under his gaze and he didn't hesitate to suck one into his mouth. He used his hand to manipulate her other breast. Emily's quiet moan of satisfaction egged him own as he laid her back once more. He continued sucking her nipples and used his free hand to cup her mound. The heat emanating from her core caused Morgan to groan his appreciation. He pulled away from her perfect breasts and kissed his way down her flat stomach.

Derek kissed every mole, freckle, tattoo, and scar on her upper body as he curled his fingers under the waistband of her pants. He pulled them down slowly along with her underwear. He continued his kisses all the way to her toes, ignoring where she wanted him the most. She slowly made his way back up to the juncture of her thighs and spread them with his hands. Her sex was plump and glistened with her arousal. He could smell her unique spicy-sweet scent and he couldn't wait to taste her. He swooped his head down and sucked eagerly at her clit. Emily stiffened at the contact yet, she opened her legs as wide as they would go. Derek alternated between sucking, flicking, and licking the swollen nub. Emily's eyes rolled in the back of her head and she pressed a pillow into her face to muffle the noises that she was making. They both froze when they heard the menu of a movie playing; just mere seconds later loud music started playing. In that moment, Emily was thankful that her children were still in that college phase and that Hank was a sound sleeper. Emily couldn't hold back the scream that came forward when her orgasm peaked. Derek slow down his movements to prolong her orgasm. Emily's body slacked back into the mattress and her breaths came out in pants.

Morgan ignored how aroused he was because he meant what he said about tonight being all about Emily. She looked at him with a lazy smile and reached for him although her arms felt like wax. He grabbed her palm and kissed it softly. Derek got up off the bed, while Emily unabashedly looked at the impressive bulge in his pants, and he went over to her closet. He came back out with two sashes in his hands. "Turn over Emily." Emily smiled wide but didn't hesitate to turn over as instructed. She bit her lip coyly while all her senses were trying to pinpoint what he was doing behind her. Once Emily's hands were securely tied to the bedposts, Morgan gripped her hips and kissed the base of her spine. He tugged her hips up, "Now I want to really taste you Princess." Emily pressed her forehead into the mattress and exhaled happily when she felt his mouth back on the neglected part of her anatomy that needed attention. Morgan kept her legs spread, even as her thighs started to shake, and used his fingers to stimulate her clit while his tongue was buried deep inside of her. He feasted on her like a man eating his last meal. The wet suckling sound spur Emily's moans on until the tightening in her belly became too much. She desperately tried to get away from him, but his hold was pretty intense. Emily felt her arousal running down her quaking thighs as her orgasm sent her into a toe-curling, elevated sense of euphoria. As her pulse slowed and her senses came back, she felt him licking every drop of her essence from and off her body. Morgan lowered her hips to the bed and reached forward to untie her hands. Emily heard his pants and knew that he was torturing himself by not getting a release.

He helped her turn over and she took that first chance she got to pounce on him. "Em no—" "You had your fun and now I get mine." Emily pulled him to her by the waistband of his jeans. She lowered the zipper and massaged his rock-hard anatomy through his underwear. Derek closed his eyes and moaned; that moan let to him feeling light-headed with she wrapped her lips around the mushroomed tip. Emily gripped his thighs until he sat on the bed. Emily immediately went back to the task at hand and took him back into her mouth. Although his eyes were closed in pleasure, Emily never stopped staring at me. She wanted to banish his memory of the other women that had him before her and she definitely wanted to rid his memory of Buford. She alternated the speed and direction of her sucking. She took him out of her mouth and stroked his entire length as she peppered kisses all over it. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Emily. He felt tears well up in his eyes and she intertwined her hand with one of his but never removed her mouth from him. She took him back into her mouth until she felt part of him slide down her throat. He tried to pull away but his impending orgasm had a mind of his own…and so did Emily. She used her other free hand to claw her nails down his thigh, a single action that made him cum instantly. Emily swallowed every last drop and cleaned his entire crotch with her tongue and kisses. Emily kissed her way up his body and laid her head on his chest. He ran a comforting hand through her hair and pulled the comforter over the both of them. Emily's eyes started to droop instantly and that along with the exhaustion of the day rocked her sleep right away. Morgan kept running his hand through her hair until her even breathing lulled him to sleep.

Javicia left her room to go downstairs for a late-night snack. She had spent the previous two hours trying to drown out Koa's questions, her job offers, and keeping it from Emily. She didn't know what choice she was going to make or why she wasn't telling her family. Koa only found out when he stormed into her apartment ranting about a bad grade on an exam and saw her hiding an envelope from the FBI. He kept prying until he found everything out. She hoped that while she was in the middle of her own funk, her mother found time to decompress. The smell of disinfectant was still potent in the kitchen. Javicia shook her head and laughed softly while putting away the cleaning material. She looked through the refrigerator and figured out what her mom would be cooking for dinner the next day. She finished all the necessary prep work and cut herself some melon before heading back to her bedroom. She put the melon down and went up one more flight to check on Hank. She stood in the doorway for a few minutes, "I wish my life were as simple as yours little buddy." Hank started to wake up and Javi walked over quickly to get him before he alerted Emily and Derek. The little boy opened his brown eyes, looking at her curiously, before laying his head on her chest.

Javicia exited the bedroom and went back towards her room. She stopped and knocked on Koa's door before entering the room. "You mind turning the game down some. I'm taking Hank in my room so mom can stay sleep." Koa turned his videogame down, "Do you think mom and Derek…ya know?" Javicia chuckled, "I hope so. She was running around like a crazy person today. Speaking of, can you go down to the Farmer's market in the morning to save mom the trip while I make breakfast." "Yeah no problem. About earlier-" "No need. It's all good Koa." Javicia closed his door and took Hank into her room. He was fighting his sleep, so she turned all of her lights off and laid him down on her bed. The moonlight coming through her window illuminated the room, so she could watch him and eat her fruit. He looked up at her and started to babble. "You really are a gorgeous little baby. It's your mom's loss but let me tell you a secret. You have a rocking replacement. She's the best." Hank just looked at her, grabbed her finger, and pulled it close to his belly. Javi got the hint, "You like belly rubs don't you?" Hank eventually went back to sleep and Javi placed her childhood shark teddy bear, that her mom obviously kept, next to him and tucked into his side. She drifted off to sleep not that long after Hank did.

Emily woke up the next morning before Derek did. She was still lying on his chest. Emily let her eyes slowly rake over his body. In all the time she knew him, she'd never notice that he had scars. The most noticeable one was a thin, long scar on his inner bicep from when he drove that ambulance with the bomb in it. She felt the tell-tale signs, that every man had early in the morning, that he was more than ready for her. Emily took solace in the fact that Derek was a sound sleeper. Emily rubbed herself against his body, which immediately responded to her teasing. She felt him harden even more against her belly. Emily trailed her fingers down her body until she reached her core and rubbed a finger against her throbbing clit. Emily felt how wet she was becoming and she couldn't handle this torture much longer. Emily lifted her body completely off of his and smiled at him unconsciously reaching for him. Emily hoped that she was wet enough because she was far too horny to stop now. Emily sat up on her knees and straddled his body. She leaned down to place a kiss over his heart before she slowly sheathed him inside of her. Emily had to stop halfway because his girth was jumpstarting an orgasm that she wasn't ready for. When their hips finally touched, Emily felt like she was floating on a cloud. He felt so good inside of her, throbbing and pulsing, that she nearly wept. She started moving up and down then swiveling her hips in a figure 8 motion. Derek started to come around; his stirring made Emily speed up her movements. Suddenly, his eyes popped open and he looked up to see Emily smiling down at him. He was stuck in a trance as her perfect body moved of its own volition. She was so tight and wet that Derek felt like he was literally drowning in her. Morgan watched Emily play with her large breasts just before she braced all her weight on her feet and slam her hips down just as fast as she lifted them. Derek groaned and grabbed her hips.

He pulled her close to him and wrapped her legs around his waist. "This is one hell of a way to wake up Em." She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, "I was really horny and there was definitely a part of you that was ready for me." "It's a natural thing for men." "A natural thing that I'm taking advantage of and baby, oh baby, it feels amazing." Slapping skin, muffled moans, and sweat-slick bodies raced once another to the finish line. Emily got there first burying her head in his neck. She started suckling at Derek's Adams apple until she felt his release start and fill her body. The last of it trickled out of her body and pooled between them. Emily leaned forward and kissed his forehead; Derek kissed Emily soundly on the lips. Emily pulled away, extricating herself from his lap, and headed for the bathroom. She started the shower and stepped inside. The cold water gave her goosebumps as she waited for it to warm up. Emily felt Morgan come up behind her and kissed her shoulder. They showered together in comfortable silence and washed each other's body with tender care and affection. He got out first and held a warm towel for Emily. They went through their morning routine and Morgan went over to the nightstand to check the baby monitor. He didn't see Hank on the small screen and the crib was empty, "Emily, did you grab Hank before you woke me up?" Emily walked out of her closet with some workout shorts and a sports bra. "No. I woke up…and gave you one hell of a wakeup call. Why?" "Because he's not in the crib."

Emily walked over to the nightstand and looked at the baby monitor. "Derek—" Morgan had already took off out the room before Emily could even get a sentence out. She watched him jet up the stairs to the nursey while she stood at the landing. He came back down the stairs running right past Emily, who had a hand out to him, and continued down the stairs. Emily shook her head and slowly descended the stairs. She smelled coffee and food cooking. She went right into the kitchen, leaning on the door jamb, while Morgan searched the living room. Emily was humored to no end and decided to end his search, "Um Derek I think he's in here." Koa looked up at his mom, started the blender, and inhaled the rest of his breakfast all within a couple of minutes. Emily chuckled to herself realizing that not much had changed with Koa. She looked at Javicia, who was holding Hank and flipping an omelet, "Good morning baby girl." Javi looked over shoulder, "Morning. Koa went to the farmer's market this morning to get the essentials. I figured that I'd make breakfast." Emily noted the shark that Hank had a death grip on. "Is that Friendly? The shark that doesn't bite people?" Emily asked laughing; Javicia rolled her eyes , "I was 3 years old! And yes, it is Friendly. Last night, I wanted some fruit and he woke up. I figured that the two of you needed to rest so, I put him back to sleep in my room. We woke up like 4 hours ago. He seems to like Friendly, so I just let him keep it." Emily felt tears well up, but Javi stopped them cold.

"Mom, stop. Don't even start crying. You cry over everything. Suck it up mother. This was not a Hallmark moment. I've babysat before. You do what you have to do to keep them calm." Emily opened the refrigerator and looked at the contents in confusion. "I finished your prep work last night. I figured out what your menu was and I started some of the dishes about an hour ago. I know how low and slow you want the roast to cook. I already started your homemade chicken stock. I guess that I assumed dinner would be at a reasonable time so that everyone could still enjoy their night." "Thank you sweetheart." "You're welcome." Javicia paused and looked at the opposite side of the kitchen, "Are you okay Derek? You kind of haven't moved or said anything. You want an omelet, waffles, or whatever Koa just made?"

Koa looked offended, "It's a protein shake thank you very much." Koa drank the purplish-green concoction and struggled not to puke it back up. Morgan saw the grimace and chose not to torture himself, "I'll have an omelet please. Any way you make it is fine." Javi handed over Hank to his dad. "He's already fed. Koa took care of that earlier." Emily remained quiet and just took the offered plate of food. Hank sat in his high chair babbling and Morgan nibbled on fruit. He felt at peace and happy. His relationship with Emily took an amazing turn, Emily's kids were warming up to him, and Hank found two more people that he was enthralled by. Emily did an amazing job with her children and for the first time, Derek could see a light at the end of the tunnel with parenting Hank. He felt that for once, everything would work out just fine. After breakfast, the day progressed pretty fast and the scheduled dinner was quickly approaching. Everyone had changed clothes and Morgan was perched on the edge of Emily's bed as he waited for her to finish getting dressed.

"Derek?" "Yeah" "Is this too dressy?" Morgan's jaw dropped at Emily's glowing body covered only with teeny tiny silk lingerie. "Em you look so sexy but I think it's a bit much for dinner with mom." "Well, you weren't listening, so I needed your attention." She disappeared and came back out in a pair of navy blue pants and a tunic top. "What were you saying Em?" "I was asking if you wanted to go ahead and tell my family that we're a couple to get it out of the way?" He hesitated, "Yeah sure. That's fine." Emily walked over to her vanity and pulled out a pair of earrings. Morgan came up behind her and kissed the top of her head. "I can tell that you're so thrilled with that thought. Since you agreed so begrudgingly, I took it upon myself to just combine both dinners. It makes more sense, especially because our families know each other." "So, is that the reason you made a feast for dinner tonight?" Emily smiled, turned around, and pulled him closer to her before leaning in for a kiss. Downstairs, the doorbell sounded and Javicia went to get it with Hank in tow. She opened the door to the surprised faces of the Morgan women. Fran spoke up, "Hello dear. I'm Fran Morgan and these are my daughters and one of my grandsons. You are holding the other one." Javicia shook her hand, "I'm Javicia and you guys must be here for dinner."

"Do you work with or for Emily?" Desiree asked as they stepped inside the home. Koa walked in their direction. "I took the bread out the oven and turn all the stuff on the grill" he stopped when he saw the guests "Oh hello. I'm Koa." Javicia got the attention of the three women. "This is Koa and we don't work for Emily. She's our mom." Their faces were priceless; Koa and Javi knew that this would be an entertaining dinner.


	14. Chapter 14

Javicia tried and failed to suppress her laugh when she looked past the three women in the doorway and saw her own family walking up. She gave Hank to his grandmother and rushed over to her own. "Nana, I miss you so much! I haven't seen you since freshman year." Elizabeth Prentiss hugged her granddaughter back tightly and kissed the top of her head. "I missed you too sweetie. I'm officially retired, so you will see much more of me." The older woman paused and her eyes watered when Koa stepped up. He was still a shy little boy, "Hi my Koa. I've missed you too." Koa hugged her back, "Me too." he muttered. Emily and Derek walked into the foyer and ushered both of their families inside. Emily decided to give a short tour to everyone. She cleared her throat, "Guys, you can follow me and I'll show you around. Dinner has about 45-60 minutes left." The women migrated towards the kitchen and Emily led the men down a short staircase near the garage. "This is the game room. It isn't finished yet, but the arcade games came from an auction last year. How I managed to get these big clunkers for next to nothing still amazes me. This is pretty much the sports cave. The bar is upstairs in the mahogany cabinetry. I'll go check on the women." Emily left her boyfriend in a room with her son, father, brother, and nephews. For a second, she felt bad but then she realized that she had to a face a room with her sister, mother, daughter, and boyfriend's mother and sisters. Emily chuckled to herself, _we're definitely even._

Emily heard all the females in the kitchen talking to one another and leaned up against the wall. She listened to them speak. _"So Javicia, how old are you?" Sarah asked curiously. Javicia laughed sweetly, "I'll just get right to it. Koa and I have the same biological dad but different mothers. His birth mom died years ago and mine stepped up. My great aunt and uncle retired to Honolulu and my mom let us stay there so that we'd have stability. Her caseload had her going all over the country, so it made sense. We are both seniors in undergrad. We're 20 and um…I don't…I can't think of anything else to say."_ Emily decided to save Javi from an awkward moment and popped her head into the kitchen, "You can tell them that you're on the Dean's List or that you're involved in about 10 different clubs on campus." Javicia rolled her eyes and tried to hide her blush, "Mom come on." Emily laughed and kissed her on the cheek, "I can't help bragging on my little girl. Ladies, I see that Javi supplied you all with wine." Fran Morgan took a sip of red wine and looked Emily up and down. "Emily, may I ask how long you and Derek have been seeing each other?" Emily choked on the sip of wine she'd just taken, Javicia snickered and received a glare from her mother. Fran continued speaking, "I can tell. He's really happy and nervous at the same time. You are acting the same way, plus all 5 of you seem pretty content with one another."

Emily's older sister laughed and went over to the stove. She turned the lamb and put some of the vegetables on the tabletop grill. "You should've been a cop Fran. You hit that right on the mark and you've only been here for like 20 minutes." She nudged Emily with her shoulder and pointed to the living room. Hank had managed to roll himself over on the playmat and was now looking at them upside down. Desiree, Sarah, and Lisa went to play with him; Elizabeth and Fran stayed in the kitchen with Emily and Javi. "Emily, may I ask you a question?" Fran asked. Emily turned around to face the red-haired woman. "Sure. What is it?" "Are you staying in Chicago long-term or?" "I'm here for good…for the time being. You, other than my family, are the first to know that. I—uh—I don't think that law enforcement is for me anymore. I just don't feel like I'm making a difference anymore. I think that I'm done with the BAU and Interpol for a while. Right now, I'm working directly with victim services and the homeless veterans in the city. I'm in the process of starting a non-profit that covers housing, counseling, financial assistance, and medical care for: victims of sexual assault, the families of homicide victims, and veterans that need help. It's a big undertaking but with connections that I've made through the years, I think that in time it'll be all worth it." Fran smiled, "I think that it's a wonderful idea Emily. It will be life-changing for people." Emily pulled her lips into a thin smile and blushed.

Javicia excused herself to go get everyone for dinner and set the large dining table. The men came up without hesitation and immediately sat down at the table, eager to dig in. The women joined them and Koa put Hank in a high chair in-between Emily and Derek. The table looked like a food presentation spread in a magazine. There was lamb, steak, baked chicken, and a litany of grilled vegetables. Conversation was light for the most part until Eli spoke up, "Koa, Javi what do the two of you plan on doing after your graduation?" Javicia panicked and choked on her food; Koa covered for her by saying, "Gramps you just caught her off guard and helped me win a bet." Koa was happy that Javi caught on to his story, but everyone else at the table was confused. "We made a bet on who would be the first to ask us about post-grad plans. I won." Javicia had finally come up with an excuse in her head before she answered her grandfather's question.

"Uh Gramps, right this second I'm in a bit of limbo. I miss mom so much that I'm thinking about staying around Chicago for a bit. Before you guys start, I don't have to go to grad school right this moment." she paused after getting disapproving looks from her family and added, "But I have gotten job offers, internships, and stuff like that." Elizabeth wiped her mouth with a napkin, "Darling, what about Oxford?" Javicia didn't make eye contact, "I haven't set up an appointment yet but I've gotten their calls." Koa jumped in to save his sister once more, "I have an expansion contract with Stanford. I'm helping design the new dorms that they plan to build in a few years. I've been driving Javi crazy having her help me with the design. She's kind of been more focused on helping me because she wanted to take a breather to be here in Chicago with mom. Are all of you staying here for good?" Koa asked his family. They said that they were, but Emily and Derek were more focused on the subliminal conversation going on between her children. They decided to watch a sports game after dinner and dessert. Javicia pulled Sarah and Desiree aside and they went outside to talk privately. "Can I ask you two a question?", they both nodded. "Is whatever you do now what you always wanted to do?" Desiree spoke first, "No. At first I wanted to be a professional track star. I didn't make it so I decided to give realtor school a try. It stuck and I've been doing it for 9 years. I like what I do and it pays the bills." Javicia remained quiet and looked at Sarah. "Yes. I know it sounds lame but I always wanted to be a librarian, so that's what I am. I found something that I was passionate about and went for it."

The three of them remained quiet before they both looked at Javi. "Is this about dinner? It was kind of obvious that something was going on when your granddad asked about your career plans. Is that what it is?" "Can I tell the two of you something in confidence?" Desiree readily agreed, "Of course. it'll be between us." Javicia struggled momentarily to find her words, "I just can't do it! Living up to Prentiss standard is hard. I don't want the political world and the police world wants me. I've been getting offers—great offers—from police agencies all over the world. And after…after everything that my mom has went through with them, I just…I just can't tell her. I want to, because I've never kept a secret from her, but then I don't because I don't know what I want to do. I am good—no I'm great at Forensic Psychiatry but my mom's job kept her away for so long, all the time; I just don't know if I'm built for something like that. I've spent too much time away from her and now I don't want to let her out of my sight." Desiree wiped away Javi's tears, "Do you want to know what my mom, and probably yours, would tell you in a situation like this?" Javi nodded her head yes. "She would tell us that no matter what, you will always have her. She'd also tell us to live our lives and do what makes us happy because she did the same. She'd say—" "That I am extremely proud of the woman you are and I want you to be happy in whatever you choose to do."

Javicia's breath hitched when she heard her mother's voice. Emily's words made her tears flow. She leapt into her mother's arms, "How did you know?" Emily smiled, "Milo and I used to do that same thing. Cover for each other and talk in circles. Koa also pulled Derek aside to talk before he came to me and just told me. In all honesty, I knew about the offers before you ever told me." "How?" "Javi, I've been in law enforcement since I was your age. I've worked for Interpol, FBI, and many other task forces and agencies that I can't tell you about. I know how hard you tried to keep it under wraps, but I worked with so many different people that someone was bound to tell me." She pulled away from her mom and held her hand, "Why didn't you say something?" Emily ushered all of them back inside, "I'm a mom Javi. Besides, you needed to feel comfortable enough to tell me yourself. I also wanted you to make your own decision without my input." They all walked back inside and their families went to grab their coats and belongings. Javicia needed an answer to her question, "What's your input?" "That the two of you should do whatever you want and know that your family—all of us—will always be by your side" Derek answered her question.

 **A/N: Emily talking to the team is next and so is Javicia's career decision.**


	15. Chapter 15

Javicia nervously wrung her hands together as she brushed her fingers through her hair for the 10,000th time. She kept fidgeting with her clothing and picked up her cell phone before putting it right back down. "Will you relax? All you're doing is choosing one job and telling all the others no." Koa scolded. Javicia cut her eyes at him, "It's more than that. This is either the best decision or the absolute worse one that I can make!" "So just work with mom for a while. You said that it was something you thought about doing so, just put it in action and do it. She knows all kinds of people in and out the Criminal Justice world and it's a pretty broad field." Javicia's eyes lit up and she smiled for the first time all morning, "You surprise me often with your ideas. This one just happens to be a great one." Koa threw an orange at her, that she caught, "You wound me when you think that I'm stupid." Javicia waltzed pass him, ruffled his hair, and said with a laugh, "All is fair in sibling rivalry."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_-

Emily sat like a statue in the driver's seat of her car as she drove to the hotel that the team was staying in. Derek left shortly after the big family dinner they had at her place because the team caught a bad case right outside of Chicago. He texted her where they were staying in hopes of her showing up to talk to everyone in person. Emily dropped Hank off with Fran before driving towards the hotel. The team was eating at the restaurant in the lobby when she walked in. Emily was so nervous that the only sounds she could hear were her shoes and the thumping of her heart. The friendly chatter and greetings of the hotel employees never made it to her ears but her sweaty palms made her want to turn around and run. _Why the hell am I so nervous? These are my friends. I've known them for years and trust them with my life. Suck it up and just go Em._

Derek caught her eye and gave her a soft reassuring smile. Everyone was talking and laughing so, Emily took the opportunity to slowly walk over to them. Thankfully, Garcia came along, which made having one conversation easy. Emily cleared her throat loudly and waved, "Hey guys." Garcia was the first to jump up, followed by JJ, and pull her into a bear hug. "My raven-haired beauty! I've missed you so much! How have you been? Wait, why are you here?" Emily hugged everyone at the table, lingering a little longer with Reid and Rossi, before she took the empty chair at the table. She tucked her long hair behind her ears, "I've missed you guys so much. Everyone looks amazing and I can't wait to truly catch up. I'm here because I need to tell all of you a few things and I'd rather do them in person." Without speaking, everyone at the table gave Emily their undivided attention.

"For starters, I no longer work for Interpol." "So, the rumors were true?" Rossi pondered aloud and Emily shook her head yes. "I don't know, I guess that after a while with just switching jobs, I couldn't take it anymore. I'm in Chicago because I live here now." Garcia was about to interrupt but Emily held a hand up. "I've chosen to start up a non-profit centered around victim's services and helping families in the wake of crime. It's taking a lot of work to get up and starting but I know in my heart of hearts that it's worth it. With all the different people that I've met through my career, I think that this organization will have longevity in our field." Hotch raised his glass to her, "I think that is a big but amazing project that you'll be great at." Emily gave Hotch a small smile. Emily took some fries off Derek's plate before continuing to speak. "I um—I also have a couple of more things to tell you guys. The first is that Derek and I are dating. The second—is that—I have 2 kids." Emily couldn't bear to make eye contact with anyone and the silence was killing her. She glanced up to see JJ holding her hand out to Reid before saying, "I told you she had at least one kid", the blonde paused and held out her other hand to Garcia, "And I told you that they would wait until after one of them left the BAU to start dating."

Emily's mouth dropped open, "How did you know that I have kids?" JJ rolled her eyes and sat up straighter. "Emily you were way too good at dealing with children while we were on cases. You gave me all sorts of advice during my pregnancy and way after I had Henry. The moment I really knew was when we went shopping and I saw the small tattoo of a shark and koala bear on your upper rib and close to your heart. So, do you have two boys, two girls, or a mix?" JJ asked with a raised brow and Garcia added, "How old are they?" Emily chuckled at JJ's observations through the years. "They're 20…almost 21. I have a son and daughter, Koa and Javicia. When they were little, Javi was obsessed with sharks and Koa with koala bears." "Are they twins?" Reid asked. "It's a long story but yeah sure they're twins. They have lived in Hawaii with my aunt and uncle. I didn't want them to move around constantly because of my work. They graduate early next semester and I can't believe how fast my babies grew up." Hotch reached out to squeeze her hand, "Emily, I know exactly where you're coming from. Jack has grown up at the speed of light. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we're happy for you and Morgan. I'm sorry that Interpol didn't work out, but your non-profit will be a beacon of hope within the system."

Derek pushed his plate towards Emily and she eagerly ate the other half of the chicken sandwich and the remainder of the fries. Rossi's phone started to ring so, he excused himself from the table. Garcia spoke up again, "When can we meet them? I mean they're adults and we've never met. That must mean that they don't want to meet us. Was it something we did or—" Emily reached over to touch Garcia's hand, "They want to meet you guys and no it's nothing that you did. How about this? Before you head back to DC, you meet my kids." Rossi came back to the table, "I'm sorry Emily but another body was found." Emily shook her head in understanding, "I get it. Go save the day." They left money for the bill and Derek leaned down to give Emily a sweet kiss on the lips. A few wolf whistles broke their kiss and made Emily blush into Derek's neck. She pecked him on the lips once more, "Be careful. I love you." He ignored the 'awws' and laughter of their friends and gave a wide smile, "I love you too Princess."

The team went to the latest crime scene to see the body and interview witnesses. Reid was questioning a woman that claimed she wasn't near the body but had blood splatter on the sleeve of her shirt. Garcia convinced Hotch that she could work remotely from Emily's house, practically begging him before he finally gave him. The rest of the day turned out to be a massive headache for the BAU that left them running in circles. Their most recent victim had a political bloodline that went all the way to the United Nations. Hotch didn't want to make Emily uncomfortable, but he needed to have a word with Emily's parents. Emily picked up on the four ring, "Hey Hotch, I know you had your reservations about Garcia working from my place but she's fine and completely focused." Hotch pretended to believe that, "That's not why I called. Our latest victim has relatives who possibly worked or works in the United Nations. I was wondering if you had contact information for your parents." "Well if your victim has ties to the UN then I'm sure one or both of my parents could give you some information. As far as contact information, I can do one better than a phone number. My parents are here…in Chicago. They moved back. I'll text you their home address." "Thanks Emily." "You're welcome Hotch." Garcia was running down about three different leads for the team when the front door open and closed. She assumed that it was Emily, finally done working on cars for the day but was surprised when a tall young man waltzed into the living room. She pushed her polka dot glasses up higher on her nose and flashed him a big smile before waving. "Hi." Koa looked her up and down and reached his hand out, "Hey. You must be Penelope Garcia. I'm Koa." Garcia stood suddenly and pulled him into a hug, "How did you know it was me?" "My mom has talked a lot about all you guys." Garcia perked up even more, "Really? What else has she said about us, more importantly about me?"


	16. Chapter 16

_Many years ago_

 _Emily watched a 10-year-old Koa sit like a statue and stare out the patio door. The summer was always rough on him because it was the time of year—just 3 years ago—that his mother took her life. There were times that Emily felt completely useless, and this was one of those moments. Emily looked at her aunt and asked, "What do I do? I have no game plan at all." Emily's aunt pushed a glass of ice water to her niece and leaned over to kiss her forehead, "He just needs his mom. He needs you." Emily took the glass of water and walked over to the patio. Koa didn't move, but he accepted the glass of water anyways. Emily sat down Indian-style next to him and pulled him closer to her. She rocked the both of them back and forth. Koa leaned into her touch, softly speaking, "Why are you here? I thought you were working with your new team." "I am working with them. Aunt Lisbe told me that my little guy won't eat or sleep…so it was a no-brainer that I was coming to visit. Luckily, we are on a stand-down right now, so I have a week to spend with my favorite guy." Koa laid his head on her chest, "What's a stand-down? What are they like?" "Stand-down is time off from working on cases. One of the people on my team went through something really bad and we all need to be there for him. His name is Gideon and he just lost the woman that he loved. My new team is more of a family."_

" _Tell me about them." Emily leaned back against one of the beams supporting the patio; Emily didn't need to turn around to know that Javicia was standing nearby—she motioned for her to come over and sit next to them. Once both of them were settled against her, she started to tell them about her team. "Jason Gideon is smart and he really loves birds. He's also a great chess player. He's a really good teacher. There's Hotch, Aaron Hotchner. He used to be a prosecutor—like your cousin Donnie. He seems to be a mean guy, but I think that deep down he's a good guy. He has a little boy named Jack. Derek Morgan is…he's charming, funny, and he likes Vonnegut and Will Campbell." Koa sat up abruptly and turned around with a bright smile. "He likes William Campbell?" Emily shook her head yes and continued to talk. "He's from Chicago and he used to play football before he became a cop. He's my partner and he always has my back. Jennifer Jareau, JJ, is smart and she's the person that picks our cases. Spencer Reid is amazingly brilliant. He's a little awkward but he's more talented and special than he realizes. Finally, there's Penelope Garcia. She's sort of like all of us wrapped up in one with a computer. She's amazing."_

 _Javicia bit into her apple, "What do they look like mom?" "Why is that important?" Javicia shrugged, "I don't know, maybe if we knew ahead of time rather than after the fact, then we could be more protective." Emily ignored Javicia's dig at her former European team and answered, "Gideon is middle-aged, shortish, and stocky. Hotch is tall and always looks frustrated and annoyed. Tall, black hair, somewhat athletic, and basically lives in a suit. Reid wears a lot of sweater vests and khakis. He kind of looks like a tall hipster and I've only seen him wear Converse. JJ is blonde, petite, and a total badass. Morgan is tall, muscular, has a clean shaved head and a gorgeous smile. Garcia…she is colorful, she dyes her hair a bunch of different colors, and her fashion is wacky but so fun to see." Emily pulled away from the both of them, "Guys I know that you don't know my new team, but they are good people."_

 _Javicia stood up and got ready to run into the house. "You can like them all you want, but you liked Clyde and Sean too and look how that turned out. Are we supposed to just accept them too? Let me guess, there's another Declan in the mix and we are supposed to just pretend like everything's fine?" Javicia stormed off and Emily let out a frustrated sigh. Koa stood up and wrapped his arms around her neck, "It's okay mom. If you trust them, then it's okay with me. I trust you and I know why you helped Declan. Javi does too but she's still upset and scared. We both almost lost you and it was really scary, especially for me, and we just don't want that to happen again. But don't be sad, we want you to keep being a cop. You love it and we love you. It'll be okay." Emily wiped away her stray tears, "I love you my sweet boy." "I love you too mom."_

Present day

Emily cleaned her hands off and put all the tools away before closing the garage and heading to the front door. Her phone was vibrating in her pocket and she reached into the pocket to answer it. "Hello Emily." Emily's hand on the door stopped cold, "How the hell did you get my number Malachi?" There was a long pause before he spoke again, "I wanted to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere to talk?" Emily hung the phone up instead of responding and turned around right in front of Garcia. "Hey peaches, you okay?" Garcia asked concerned. Emily smiled, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Garcia knew that Emily was hiding something but didn't want to push. "Something wrong Pen?" Garcia shook herself, "No not at all. Hotch wanted me to let you know that he's meeting up with your parents for help with the case." "Okay." Garcia noticed how Emily's demeanor changed after her phone call. She didn't think that Emily knew that she'd been there for part of her phone conversation. Garcia didn't want to complicate her relationship with Emily, but she desperately wanted to help her. Emily went upstairs to shower and Garcia thought about getting her phone out of her bedroom. Garcia scratched that thought and just grabbed her laptop to search Emily's call log. Garcia never noticed Koa looking over her shoulder from the kitchen. He watched silently while she searched the name of his mom's most recent call. Just when she was almost there, Emily came downstairs and startled them both.


	17. Chapter 17

Just as fast as Emily came into the living room, she left right back out towards her bedroom. Garcia looked over her shoulder just about every 10 seconds to ensure that Emily wasn't behind her. She felt like a creep for poking around her best friend's personal life. Emily was the most secretive person that Garcia knew, and she knew quite a few. Garcia did what she did best, which was working with the bare minimum of information to get results. Whoever the person was who called Emily went through quite a few hoops to remain unnamed/unlisted. After hacking two separate phone companies and a bank account, Garcia figured out that the person who called her was Malachi Sanderfer. Garcia was in the midst of deep-diving this mystery man's life when she looked up to see Javicia in the doorway. Garcia pushed her glasses up further on her nose before Javi said, "If I were you, I'd hide that because she's coming." Garcia put her personal laptop to sleep and hid it in her bag just as she pulled out the one she used primarily for work. Emily came downstairs and kissed Javicia on the cheek. "Are you guys hungry?" Garcia, Javi, and Koa all said yes. Emily went into the kitchen and started to pull out ingredients to make paninis with a side salad. Garcia followed Javi outside to her car. Javicia was grabbing bags out of her trunk, with Garcia's help.

Garcia spoke up, "How did you know" Javi didn't even turn around, "How did I know that you were doing something that you didn't want my mom to know about? I am her daughter. She used to tell us how you'd take matters into your own hands if you felt that your family was under attack. So, is she…under attack?" Garcia grabbed the last two bags out of the trunk before facing Javicia. She gnawed on her bottom lip and shrugged, "I don't think so. She was just being a little secretive and ever since we found out about you and your brother—" "You were trying to stay one step ahead of any new secrets that my mom may have?" Garcia shook her head yes. Javicia closed her trunk and locked her car doors. "Well I don't think that you have anything to worry about. She didn't tell any of you about us because we didn't want to know any of you. My mom's old team destroyed our trust with anybody that was supposed to have her back. I'm sure that all of you are nice people but she's my mom and her safety and happiness is all that matters to me. Don't blame her for not saying anything, she was respecting our wishes." Garcia stood there in awe of the mini-Emily in front of her. "My raven-haired beauty is a great mom." Javicia smiled wide, "Yeah she's pretty great but I'm biased." The two walked back into the house after Emily yelled that their food was ready. The four of them ate comfortably; Emily got up abruptly and grabbed her keys. "Where are you going?" Javicia asked. Emily grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and spotted her car keys, "My parts for the Ford Vicky finally came in. I need to go pick them up before Alvin closes shop for the day. I'll be back quick." Emily blew kisses and then left. Garcia was confused, "She stopped eating to pick up car parts?" Koa laughed out loud, "Penelope you have no idea how obsessed mom is with restoring old cars. Think of it this way, mom and cars is like you and anime." Garcia squealed happily and clapped her hands.

Emily was loading the last box from Alvin into her car when her phone started ringing again. She answered it and cradled it between her ear and shoulder while struggling to make the last box fit. With the phone held to her ear, Emily let her back seat down completely to give her more room in the trunk. "Hello. Who is this." "Emily please don't hang up." Emily almost threw the box in her trunk out of frustration, "What do you want Malachi?" she hissed out. "How have you been?" "Don't go there. What do you want? We are not friends." "We have a child together." "No!", Emily said that louder than she wanted and looked around to ensure no one heard her. Thankfully they didn't, "We don't have a child together. I have a daughter and a son that I've raised with no help from you. You don't get to do this, you didn't give a fuck about us. It was all about your other family." "What are you talking about? I had a kid with you and a kid with Leslie." Emily's temper was flaring, "Newsflash Malachi, Leslie's dead. She's been dead for 14 years. So I have raised both of the children you fathers and abandoned." "How did she die?" "She killed herself because you told her that she was a liar and that the only children you had were with your wife. She killed herself because she loved you and you didn't love her back." There was silence for many minutes before Malachi spoke again, "I'm getting divorced and I missed you." Emily hung up and slumped down next to her car. She had so many emotions going through her head and she didn't know who to talk to. She got in her car and just started driving and before she knew it, she was pulling up outside of Fran Morgan's home.

Emily got out of the car and slowly walked up all the stairs and knocked softly of Fran's door. There was a quiet shuffling of feet before the front door opened and Fran's smile greeted her. The smile faded the minute that Fran saw Emily's somber expression. She pulled her inside and immediately wrapped her in a strong hug. Emily didn't realize she was crying until she choked on a sob. Fran held her close and rubbed circles on her back. She walked the both of them over to the couch. "Emily what's wrong? Was it Derek? If it was my baby boy I swear—" Emily shook her head no. "No it's not Derek." Fran waited for Emily to speak again; she went to get her a glass of water. Emily drank it quickly before struggling to put it down with her trembling hands. She had trouble putting her words together for a moment, "I didn't know who to talk to." "It's alright. You can talk to me whenever you need to."

Emily sat back on the couch and brought her knees up to her chest, "Today, I've been getting calls from someone that I have talked to in about 20 years. He um—Malachi—is Javi and Koa's biological father. He called me out of the blue and told me that he was getting divorced and that he missed me. It wasn't that, it was just the realization that he never did and never will love Javi and Koa. I feel horrible because a small part of me wants to sit down with him, just to figure out what he truly wants, and then another part of me just wants to forget everything." Fran grabbed Emily's hand, "Making yourself forget doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Emily I can look at you and tell that you've been weathering this storm for a long time. You've carried the burden all by yourself. You deserve to be happy Emily and truly at peace." Emily stopped trying to wipe the tears and just let them flow. Fran never said a word, she just comforted Emily. Emily started to talk softly, "I was young and I made an irresponsible decision. I never loved him but Leslie did. She loved him more than she loved herself. She took her own life because she felt like she couldn't live without him. She left her son—the sweetest boy on the planet—chasing after a man that wanted nothing to do with her. He doesn't care about them and I don't care about him, so why is the whole thing frustrating me so badly?" Fran pulled the crying woman into her arms and rocked her slowly. She kissed the top of Emily's head, "Because you need closure. You need to look at him in the face and ask all the questions that you have. You need to close this chapter completely before you can continue on in your next one." Emily cleaned her face, "How am I supposed to tell Derek?" "Emily you have to figure out where you head is first before you tell Derek."


	18. Chapter 18

Malachi sat at the table nursing his third drink while constantly watching the door for Emily. He'd never admit it out loud to anyone, but he wanted Emily more than Leslie. For him, Emily's non-interest in him during that spring break trip made him want more. Unlike Leslie, Emily wasn't going to put up with his shit nor was she going to be one of the girls that fell all over him and beg for attention. His wife started out with a personality like Emily's, but when they had children…she became more like Leslie. He grew bored of his wife and decided that he wanted out. Her begging him to stay left a distaste in his mouth that only drove him to seek out Emily. It was wrong to use her as a rebound but, back in the day, she used him for an easy lay. He picked out the best restaurant in Chicago for their late lunch/early dinner. The ambiance was set for a romantic meal. Malachi figured he'd woo her to see how hard/easy it'd be to get her with him. In his mind, they'd be an untouchable couple.

Emily walked into the restaurant and looked around for Malachi. She didn't want him getting any ideas, so she opted for a plain t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she had on minimal makeup. Malachi stood out like a sore thumb, so he was easy to identify. She walked over and sat; the waiter came to the table, but she waved him off. Malachi smiled brightly at Emily, "You look great. Do you like the place I chose? It gives an intimate feeling don't you think?" Emily bit her tongue and leaned forward on her elbows, "There is nothing intimate about this right now. I have a surprise for you…just wait for it." Emily sat back with a sly smirk and Malachi immediately perked up at the thought of what she had planned. He took his phone out his pocket, put it on airplane mode, and gave her his full attention. His smile faded when he looked up and saw two young adults walk up to the table. The boy looked like a mix of him and Leslie. He had Malachi's complexion and bone structure but Leslie's eyes and long, wavy, black hair. The girl looked just like Emily with skin a few shades in-between Emily's and his'. They sat down at the table on both sides of Emily. Emily's smirk morphed into a full-blown smile.

"I hope you don't mind Malachi, but I invited my kids to join us. Malachi, this is Javicia and Koa. Guys this is—" "our deadbeat dad" they both answered in unison. Malachi drank the last of his drink in one big gulp. He didn't get a chance to speak before Javi asked him a question, "Why did you choose now to talk to mom? What's your endgame?" Malachi drank some of the water that was placed in front of them before responding, "I just thought that it'd be nice to catch up with your mom." "For what? You've been gone for 20 years, why do care all of a sudden?" Koa countered. Malachi looked at Emily, who seemed to be a little sympathetic towards him, for help—that she wouldn't give. Koa grabbed a drawstring backpack that he'd brought with him. He threw it into Malachi's lap. The man looked down and asked, "What's this?" Koa shrugged nonchalantly, "This is my mother. You see inside that bag was the woman that she became as I grew up. She stopped taking care of me because she was obsessing over you. She kept every article, picture she could, hell—even receipt…anything that gave her some sort of connection to you. I loved her…I loved her more than she loved me." Koa's eyes betrayed his rage. Emily knew her son and she knew he was moments away from a breakdown. His anguish with Leslie has always outweighed his anger. He was just a little boy that had a terrible reality to face at a very young age.

Emily stood up, motioning for her children to do the same. Javicia remained still like a statue, staring daggers at Malachi, and slowly stood up from the table. She grabbed a small bundle and slide it across that table. She pointed to the bundle, "This is what you missed out on by being a piece of shit. We've always had the high academic accomplishments. Koa's been an all-American athlete his entire life and I've always been involved in non-profit and community work. The only good thing you've ever done is help make us. You are a pathetic excuse for a man and you aren't anyone's father because you're a man-child with no desire to actually grow up. Have a miserable life Malachi Sanderfer." Javi walked off and took Koa with her; Emily stayed behind with Malachi. He grabbed her wrist and she took a deep breath, to not give him a reaction. He cupped her face in his hands, "Tell me that you never felt anything for—I get that they are mad but we'd be electric together." Emily eased her face out of his embrace, "My kids come first and they always will. Malachi please just stop." "Tell me you don't feel anything for me." Emily looked directly in his eyes, "I don't feel anything for you." He challenged her, "Prove it." Emily scoffed and walked away. Malachi threw a few bills down on the table and muttered, "I'm not giving up that easily Emily."

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Javicia found herself down at the police station waiting near the breakroom for Derek to come out. He read her text and gently pulled her by the elbow to a quieter section of the room. Javi wouldn't meet his eyes so, he used his index finger to tilt her chin upwards in hope of getting eye contact. Her chocolate brown eyes were hidden behind a film of unshed tears; her lip started to quiver so, he pulled her in for a hug. She cried silently and buried her face deeper into his warm and comforting embrace. Rossi saw them and motioned for them to go outside. Derek followed that and took her around the back and outside in the crisp fall air. He pulled away, "Javi what's wrong?" she tried in vain to hide her tears, "He's wiggled his way back in and I'm afraid that she's going to let him." "Who is she?" "My mom" she croaked out.

"Javi, who is wiggling back in?" She shook her head, "My da—Malachi. He's our dad. Mom actually met up with him at a restaurant and brought us along. At first, I knew that she'd be on our side but then—" Morgan's anxiety started to climb, "Then what?" Javi ran her hands through her hair and doubled over, "Then she just sat there with that look in her eyes. You've known her long enough to know that look. It's the moment that she sees the good in someone even if they're fucked up royally. I could see that she was finding a reason to forgive him and it terrifies me. He's going to hurt her because he has no good in him, but she can't see that." Morgan looked away from her, "Javi your mom is a strong and brilliant woman. She sees through whatever game he's playing." "If she did, then why didn't she tell you that we'd all be having lunch together? When I got here, you had no idea what was bothering me. That lets me know that my mom kept you in the dark about Malachi. How much does she trust us? You, me , Koa? Does she love us enough to erase him from her life for good?"

Emily spent a big portion of time, after the disaster at the restaurant, soothing Koa. Just as she suspected, her baby boy broke down in her arms. Emily wished that she could take all their pain away and put it on herself. Emily feared that by bringing the kids with her, she set them back somehow. Emily wanted closure, or so she thought. Now she was more confused than ever because she didn't get clear answers from him. Emily knew—she just knew—that deep down he might not be a horrible person…maybe he just made bad choices. Emily stayed in the shower thinking about that lunch for almost an hour. She didn't hear Morgan come into her bathroom and screamed when she turned around and saw him. He looked at her with a mix or anxiousness and anger. Emily wrapped herself in a towel and walked over to him. She reached up and touched his face, "Hey baby." He grabbed her hands and put them down by her sides. "Why didn't you tell me Emily?" "Tell you what?" she asked confused. Morgan gritted his teeth and moved towards her while she kept backing up, "Why didn't you tell me that you were going to meet up with your ex?" "Derek I—I"

 _ **A/N: Part 2 of this chapter will be next. there won't be any triggers or abuse, I just like writing cliffhangers. This chapter was too long in my head for me to get it all down within 2 hours, so I gave you guys half of it.**_


	19. Chapter 19

Emily shrunk down into the shower as Derek kept coming towards her. Her genuine fear broke his heart, he kneeled down in front of her and gently pulled her up by the forearms. He held her face and kissed her forehead, "Emily baby I would never hit you. I am so sorry that I scared you. I would never raise a hand to you or any other woman." Emily wouldn't meet his eyes, but she felt him kissing away her tears. Her body was still trembling yet, she couldn't explain why she was so scared. She started to cry loudly and all he could do was pick her up and hold her. He noticed that she had started to lose weight. Emily's small frame made every couple of pounds lost/gained noticeable. Emily sobs were like punches to his heart. He carried her into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and spooned behind her, "Emily I am so sorry. Javi came to see me and she was practically crying. When she told me what happened I just got mad and I didn't think before I said anything to you." Emily stopped crying and croaked out, "Javi crying? Why? Don't lie to me Derek." He let out a long sigh, "Because she thinks that you will forgive him and let him back into your life." Derek felt her body go rigid; she jumped out of the bed and turned to him full of rage. "Who the fuck do you think you are? How can you **and** my child try and think for me? No one knows what decision I will make until I do so! I am not some weak woman that you have to protect! He is my past and with the way you're acting, you can always join him on that side. Let's just get to the root of this. I AM NOT SAVANNAH, DEREK! You are so fucked up for even acting like I am. However I deal with Malachi from this point on is none of your business. I have a brain, but I also have a heart. I'm sorry that you're the only one in this room who can turn theirs on and off." "Em i—" She walked away before he could say anything else. Emily sat in JJ's hotel room silently crying. Both her blonde best friends came into the hotel room with Italian food and bourbon. Garcia hated brown liquor, but Emily loved it and they were there to comfort her.

JJ sat down on the bed next to Emily and handed her a container of lasagna. She started to eat her spaghetti and Garcia got ready to dig into her spinach and sausage ravioli. The trio ate silently until Emily put her food down and grabbed the bottle of bourbon. She unscrewed the top and started to chug straight from the bottle. JJ grabbed it out of her hands, "Whoa there cowgirl. Slow down. Save some for the rest of us." Garcia took a swig and grimaced, "Oh my God, how does anyone drink that without puking?" She looked over at JJ and Emily who were taking shots back and forth as if it were pink lemonade and not acid-fire. They looked at Garcia and laughed at her trying to scrub the taste off her tongue with a napkin. "Emily, are you going to tell us what's got you so upset?" JJ prodded gently. Emily threw herself back on the bed, "Can't a girl just eat carbs and drink with her friends?" They gave up trying to get her to talk about it and just enjoyed the rest of the night. Morgan spent nearly two hours trying to Hank to settle down. Morgan knew that Hank missed Emily, but he was in the dog house and this would be the one time that Hank's cute face wouldn't fix that. He had really screwed up with Emily and needed advice. He was relieved when Riley said that he'd come right over. When Riley entered Fran's house, he tried to get a smile out of Hank, but the little guy wasn't having it. "Man, he really misses his new mama." Morgan chuckled bitterly, "Yeah he does. Right now, he's letting me know that he isn't impressed with my behavior. I have no idea what to do man." Riley took a seat, "First, we have something to eat because I'm hungry. Second, you put him in front of anything that reminds him of Emily. Third, you let her cool off before you try to talk to her. I know this because I tried talking to my wife before she was ready and wound up with a paring knife sticking out of my bicep. _Your_ woman carries a gun. Don't wind up in the morgue man. Finally, you need to get to the bottom of whatever your issues are. This goes deeper than what you told me. She met up with her ex. So what? She took her kids with her and that man is a part of her. He gave her those two kids. You can't get mad at her when Savannah is the reason you have Hank. What if Emily flipped out over you and Savannah having a conversation? You'd say that she was be irrational. What do you think you're doing right now man?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth Riley." Both men turned around to the sound of Fran's voice. Derek comically gulped when he saw his mother and sisters staring him down. Riley grabbed the small bag of chips in front of him and quickly made his retreat. "Riley, where are you going?" "This seems like more of a family matter and I'm very tired of getting wounded. Have a nice night Morgan family." He poked his head in once again, "Remove all objects that can be used as a weapon, even ones you wouldn't normally think of, before you have this conversation with your girl again. Oh and try not to make the little guy mad like this when he gets older. He might try to kill you in your sleep. Have a good night!"


	20. Chapter 20

Derek pulled up outside of the boxing gym and let out a long breath before he got out of the SUV. He didn't feel the least bit of shame in forcing Garcia to give him all the info she found on Emily's ex. He walked into the gym looking for one specific person and found him in front of a punching bag. Morgan took a minute to look the man over. He stalked over and grabbed the man by the shoulder, "You Malachi?" "Who wants to know?" "I'm Derek Morgan. Emily's boyfriend." Malachi smirked and stopped hitting the punching bag. He sized Morgan up and reached for his water bottle. "So, I take it this is your warning for me to back off? Save your breath. I had Emily well before you did and I will always have something with her that you wont…children. She will always have a soft spot for me. All I have to do is wait for the right moment." Morgan got in his face, "She's not a piece of meat! You're right, you do have children with Emily but so do I. We have a son together. The difference between you and me is that I have something with her that you never will—her heart."

Malachi smirked at Morgan, "Is that why you're so insecure? You made it your mission to find me just to let me know that you're dating her. I think we both know that Emily is unpredictable. She's hot and cold. One minute she wants you, and the next she doesn't." Malachi leaned in close to Morgan, "Tell you what, I'll share her with you. Besides, we both know how good she is. Let me know when you're done." Morgan caught Malachi off-guard with a punch to the face. Malachi looked shocked but retaliated with a headbutt. Morgan felt the blood running from his nose but got back up and tackled him to the ground. They threw punches and kicks back and forth; Morgan got the upper hand and pinned Malachi down and started choking him. Malachi grabbed a nearby dumbbell and hit him upside the head. Some of the other men working out as well as the gym owner separated them. The owner knew Morgan, so he let them go with a warning to never pull a stunt like this in his gym again. Morgan was pissed at himself for letting Malachi get under his skin. He walked up the stairs to his mom's place and unlocked the front door. He could smell food cooking and tried to take a detour before his mother saw him in the state he was in.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard humming. He stopped just outside the living room and saw Emily rocking Hank in her arms. He stood and watched the two of them. Hank's big brown eyes were staring at Emily in amazement. They were smiling at each other and Emily kept kissing his cheeks. "I love you my sweet baby. I love you so much." Hank only responded with happy gurgles and laying his head on her chest. Emily kept rocking him and slowly looked over her shoulder to see Morgan standing in the doorway. She looked at the black eye forming and the swollen lip. Emily put Hank down in his playpen and walked past Derek. She reached behind her, tugging his hand, and pulled him into the small kitchen with her. She sat him down at the small dining table and went over the sink and grabbed a first-aid kit from underneath it. She ran a towel under hot water and stood between his legs. She started dabbing away the blood from his lip as well as the blood trickling from his nose. She continued to clean his face, "Do I want to know?" He didn't respond nor would he look her in the eye. "Derek, were you defending my honor? It wasn't necessary. Malachi will always be a part of me, but he won't always be a part of my life. He's my ex and there's a reason for that. Derek, listen to me. I love you but I can't stand this jealous and insecure part of you. I could never have let Malachi back into my life because Javi, Koa, and Hank come first. After them, the man that I love—who drives me crazy from time to time—is next and then everyone else. Derek you never had to compete with Malachi to keep me. You just had to trust me."

Derek grabbed her hands, "Emily I do trust you. I was afraid to lose you because the two of you have kids together and we—" "Have a son together. Not carrying and birthing Hank doesn't take away from me being his mother. Derek, we can't let anyone break us. We're aren't settling for each other—hell we fought hard to get to this place. I love you, only you. No ex from our pasts nor any other outside people can change the amount of love I have for you." Derek drew her into a passionate kiss and held her tight to him. Emily pulled away, "There are a lot of things that I find tasty, but your blood isn't one of them." They both shared a laugh and he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Are you sure that we're good?" she caressed his face with her hand, "We're good." Derek looked around, "Wait what are you doing here?" Emily looked mock-offended and walked over to the oven. "Your mom has been busy downtown at the shelter so, I thought that I would make all of you dinner and spend some time with my little guy."

Fran walked into her home with a tired but grateful smile on her face. She looked at Morgan's face and gave a disapproving glare. She walked over to Emily and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you dear. This looks and smells amazing." Emily tasked herself with making everyone a plate when Desiree, Sarah, and one more guest walked through the door behind them. Javi walked into the room with her head bowed in shame. Emily stared at her until Javi made eye-contact with her mother. Emily simply opened her arms and Javi ran right into them, "I'm sorry mom." Emily kissed her forehead, "It's okay. You're my daughter and my protector. I understand how you felt and where you were coming from. Thank you for always protecting your mom my little firecracker." "You're not mad that I went to Derek?" Emily shook her head, "No, because now we are all a family and am eternally grateful that you trusted Derek enough to go to him." She looked over her mother's shoulder, "What's for dinner?" Emily shrugged, "I tried my hand at Fran's famous beef stroganoff."


	21. Chapter 21

Once the case was over, Emily and Derek went back to her house. Javi wanted to stick around with Fran to have some bonding time; Koa was with Emily's family at their house. Desiree volunteered to watch Hank for the night. She gave Emily a sly wink as she bid goodnight to her and Derek. Emily hadn't said much to Derek and he knew that she was still hurt. He needed her to know that he trusted her no matter what. Although she said that they were fine, he couldn't help but think that she was gearing herself up for heartbreak. Emily was in the laundry room when he walked up behind her. He placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She held his hands in place and leaned into his embrace. Derek pulled Emily away from the dryer, "Derek I'm—" "I'll finish the laundry. I was thinking that we could watch and movie. You know spend some time together." Emily wanted to argue, but she opted not to and complied with his request. Derek finished loading the dryer and made a detour into the kitchen to grab snacks. Emily turned the AC on and grabbed one of the big comforters out of the hall closet. She waited until he came back to recline in his lap. Throughout the movie, Emily softly stroked his forearm while he ran his fingers through her long hair. His ministrations glided her into a peaceful slumber in his arms. Derek watched her sleep but wasn't successful in moving from behind her without the possibility of waking her up. His left arm, that Emily locked tightly around her body, was starting to go numb. He had to pee and he was hungry, but like any smart man, he remained completely still because she was sleeping so peacefully. He remained imprisoned, so to speak, because his Princess was in paradise.

Eventually, he fell asleep as well; he woke up after Emily completely shifted. The pinpricks in his arm and hand let him know that she gave him a window to relieve his bladder. That became a feeble thought when he looked down to see Emily snuggled into his lower abdomen. Somehow, she managed to tangle herself around his body. Her head was just above his pelvic bone, her left arm was pinned under his lower back, her right arm was tucked under his left arm and clasped on his left shoulder. Her legs were wrapped loosely around his like silk. He carefully reached down to try and detangle her hair before it became a hassle. When he was satisfied, Morgan pulled the comforter up slowly to cover them both. Emily's warm breath on his stomach made his skin tingle. When Emily woke up, she realized that she had basically handicapped her boyfriend. Emily positioned her chin at the top of his pelvis and stared at him. To Emily, he never aged. That beautiful complexion that both of his parents blessed him with always looked smooth and flawless.

From her vantagepoint, he looked so harmless; that was the case most days, however, Emily knew firsthand that he could be dangerous. If years of being on the same team taught her anything, it was that he could be lethal. She took a moment to reflect on a time when he gave her the option of feeling his abs. At the time, she thought it was completely ridiculous but now she appreciated every single sit-up that he did. Emily untangled her limbs from his and started placing butterfly kisses on his abs. Whenever he moved, she stopped kissing him; Morgan was having quite the erotic dream about Emily having her way with him. Emily moved her kisses up his body slowly while straddling his hips. She grinded down on his growing erection. When she shifted to the right, Emily had to hold back the moan that threatened to slip out as her clit brushed against him. Emily lowered her mouth to his jawline and started to suck the skin there. Emily nipped at his jaw and chin before going to her favorite spot. Emily kissed his Adam's apple and rubbed her hands down his body. She rose up on her knees to take off her shirt.

Emily's light touches had Derek moaning and squirming on her large couch. Emily slithered back down his body and kissed his dick through his thin lounge pants. Emily slowly freed him from the pants and his boxers; she traced his entire length with her tongue from base to tip. Emily took him into her mouth inch-by-inch and whatever she couldn't fit, she used her hands to manipulate. Emily alternated her speed just as Derek opened his eyes. He focused on her and his heart rate sped up at the intense eye-contact she held with him. Derek sat up and pushed Emily off of him; he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips. While locked in a kiss, Derek took Emily's clothes off and pulled her into his lap. "Emily, baby what are—" "Shut up Derek. My kids are busy and Desiree ensured us a night without a baby. We are making up right now. Now shut up and have your way with me."

Derek reached his hand down between them and found her entrance. Her wetness coated his fingers and she slammed herself down onto them. Emily happily moaned as she rode his thick fingers. Emily stared at him in adoration at the same time she found her climax. She leaned down and kissed his lips, "Baby please tell me that my big friend here will show me a good time." Derek laughed and bit her neck, "Of course, as long as my little wet, tight friend here gives me the same." Derek positioned Emily and lowered her down onto his dick until he was buried to the hilt. Emily swiveled her hips slowly and reveled in the feeling of their joined bodies. Derek gripped her hips tightly and lifted her up before bringing here back down. Emily gave just as much as she was getting. She slammed her hips down rapidly and dug her nails into his hips. She knew that she was leaving marks, but she didn't care. Emily rode him like a wild animal. She felt her orgasm start to coil in her belly. She stopped momentarily to put all her weight on the balls of her feet, pull Derek as close to her as possible, and hold on for dear life as she let him take full-control.

Derek surprised her by putting both her legs around his neck, "Baby look at me." Emily looked at him and cried out as he moved her hips faster than she thought possible. He came with a surprise and she did too. Emily pushed her hips down and remained seated in his lap. She giggled when he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, "Princess, am I forgiven?" Emily kissed his lips, "Depends. How many times can you keep this up tonight?"


	22. Chapter 22

Emily woke up to the three different conflicting smells. One was flowery, one was cupcakes, and the other was strong and potent. She popped one eye open and threw her head back groaning. "How did you get in my house?" Tara and JJ snickered when Penelope threw the curtains open, "My chocolate god of course." "Why would he do something like that?" Garcia was offended, "I'm hurt pudding cup. Boss man is letting us have one more day here so that we can spend time with you. My perfect hunk already told us that you showered—probably together—and that you were probably taking an early morning nap. Now get up, get ready, and let's go have a girls day before we go back to lonely Quantico." JJ interjected, "Quantico isn't lonely." Before Garcia could speak again, Tara spoke, "I think Garcia means that it's lonely without you." Garcia agreed with a head nod. Emily got out of bed naked (fortunately, they'd all seen each other naked—as most girlfriends have, so it wasn't awkward) and got dressed. She came out of the closet in a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. Their looks of disapproval made her roll her eyes and go back into the closet to find another outfit. She came back out in a 2-piece skirt combo that was readily approved by her friends. She went into the bathroom to apply her makeup. JJ sat on the nearby bathroom counter while Tara sat on the edge of her bathtub. Emily applied her makeup for a few moments before she finally turned around to look at them, "What's going on guys?" JJ and Garcia looked at Tara who just gave up easily, "I have a problem." Emily gave Tara her full attention. "I told JJ and Garcia about it, but I would like your opinion about it too." "Okay shoot."

Emily finished getting ready and they all went downstairs and outside to get in the car. Tara sat upfront with Emily, "My son is going through a really bad phase and I think it's my fault." "Wait a minute, you have a son?" Tara nodded and looked out the window, "Yeah I have a son with my ex-husband." Emily looked shocked again, "You have an ex-husband?" "Yeah I do. Anyways, Terrence is going through this really bad rage phase and I feel like it's my fault. It got really bad between me and his dad and um—Terrence saw the bitter end of it. He's been so protective of me since then. Recently, he's been getting into really bad fights and his moods are all over the place." "How old is he?" "17." Emily shook her head but remained quiet for a moment. She turned onto the freeway and looked at Tara, "It seems like your son wants to be your protector. It's natural for us moms to blame ourselves. He needs someone to talk to because he probably won't be completely transparent with you. Fits of rage can be isolated to a specific incident or they can snowball into a horrible pattern of behavior. What happened specifically?" "Terrence sometimes shows up to my seminars as another face in the crowd. It's nice and refreshing that he actually wants to be around his mom as a teenager. This most recent time, his father showed up as well and he lost it. His father needed stiches. That was the angriest that I've ever seen him."

Emily pulled into the posh nail salon/day spa and cut the car off; they all got out and walked towards the door. Emily grabbed Tara's arm to hold her back, "Your son saw the worst of his father although you tried to shield him. He also saw his mother staying in a situation that was breaking her day-by-day. Only because I've had to do it once before, Tara the both of you need to go to therapy. The both of you need each other and to be mentally healthy. May I ask what Garcia and JJ told you?" Tara pulled Emily into a tight hug and said in her ear, "They told me that the person who could understand what I'm going through the most is you. They also said that the advice you'd give me, would be the best that I'd receive." With tears in her eyes, she continued, "They weren't wrong. Thank you Emily for being honest with me." Emily hugged her back, "What are friends for. Now let's get massages." Tara finally felt like one of the girls after talking with Emily; as a stranger and the newbie on the team, Tara felt like it'd take forever for her to become one of them.

After Emily got back from spending time with the girls, she walked into her bedroom and dumped the shopping bags everywhere. She fell back onto the bed just as her computer chimed; she begrudgingly got up and logged into the computer. She had an email from her credit card company. The email confirmed a flight to Chicago from Kilkenny. Emily's brow furrowed and she closed the laptop. She walked up the few steps to the landing and knocked on the door jamb; the door opened slowly and a wild mess of wavy hair slowly came into her line of vision. "Helloooo mom." Emily walked into Koa's room and started to tidy up his bedroom. "I had a charge come through on my credit card." Koa visibly gulped and tried his best to come up with an excuse. Emily blatantly didn't look at his face because she knew that guilt would be all over it. Koa's lanky form shot up from the swiveling chair as he scrambled for an answer.

He stood awkwardly scratching his head when Emily turned to look at him. "My credit card was charged for a flight from Kilkenny. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Koa's eyes darted from side to side. "Mom, I kinda—" Emily heard the doorbell ring and held a finger up, "Hold that thought." Javicia beat her to the door and swung it open, "What in the hell are you doing here? ANSWER ME!" Emily rushed down the stairs, with Koa right behind, when Javi started screaming. When they got downstairs, Koa was the first to say, "Holy shit." Emily had to do a doubletake, "Declan?" "Hey mom." he responded. Javicia got in his face and said through gritted teeth, "She's not your fucking mother!" Koa sat down on the steps and twisted his hands in his hair, "This is going to be a long night."


	23. Chapter 23

"Declan, come in." Emily said. He slowly walked into her vast home and stood awkwardly in the doorway of the living room. Koa sat at the bottom of the staircase. Emily grabbed Javi's hand and pulled her into the kitchen. "Javi, you and Declan have to stoop this. I want to get to the bottom of whatever this is. You will not, and I repeat, will not keep lashing out at him until I understand what the problem is between you. Do me a favor and just remain quiet while I hear Declan out." Javi didn't say a word, but slowly followed her mother into the living room. Emily ushered for Declan to sit down on the couch; she felt bad for how nervous he looked and grabbed his hand. "Sweetie, what's going on with you?" Declan looked at her through a film of unshed tears. "Mom I miss you so much. I've felt so alone since you left. When my dad died, I felt like I lost you too. I know you had a job to do and that you tried to keep me safe, but you disappeared. I feel like I've been all by myself and I don't think I would've made it this far if I didn't have Koa." Declan paused and looked at Javicia. "I know why you hate me. You feel like I stole your mom. To you, her being in my life was part of a case, but it wasn't. For the first time in my life, I had a mother. I had someone who played games with me and read me bedtime stories. She was and will always be my heart."

Javi spoke up, "Declan, I'm sorry that you didn't have a mother but that doesn't mean that you can just take mine. For 2 years straight, my mom was completely gone. We got no calls, letters, gifts, bedtime stories, or hugs. We got silence because she was with you and your twisted father galivanting all over fucking Europe! After she came back, she never really came back. She was always worried about and looking after you. I lost my mother too Declan!" Everyone looked up when they noticed that Javi was crying. Declan surprised everyone by walking over and pulling Javi into a hug. "I'm sorry if you felt like I took her from you. She's amazing so, yes I did want her all to myself especially after what happened with my father." Emily watched the moment pass between them and felt her heart swell. She looked at Koa and whispered, "Thank you baby. They wouldn't have gotten here without you." They joined Javi and Declan in a big group hug.

DDDDDDDDDDffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Morgan found himself staring at his phone while Emily and Hank slept peacefully. They'd been talking on FaceTime before they both fell asleep. He sat in his lonely apartment and pondered over the paperwork that sat in his lap; there was a knock at his door that captured his attention. He went to the door and was surprised when he saw Tamera Barnes. He was perplexed and he watched her stare him up and down. He laid his phone down on the table right after she stumbled. He helped her stand up straight but immediately removed his hands from her exposed upper thigh. She giggled and pushed her hair out of her face, "I didn't mind. You did always have the magic touch" she purred as she stroked his face. He pulled away from her hand but she crossed the threshold and got right in his face, "What's wrong Derek? You've never rejected me before." Morgan was trying to find a way to tell Tamera that he was taken, but she wouldn't stop pushing herself on him. He opened his mouth to speak just as she kissed him. After his shock wore off, he pushed her away and out his door before locking it. He turned his head when he heard the beeping of a disconnecting FaceTime. Morgan rushed over to his phone to see that Emily had hung up. He originally linked all his Apple products together so that he could record his FaceTime calls. He quickly pressed rewind until he saw Emily shift. She squinted against the screen brightness before focusing her eyes on the screen. Morgan watched her beautiful brown eyes widened just as they filled to the brim with tears. When her tears fell, he knew exactly what she saw and hung his head in shame. He called her 15 times and she kept sending him to voicemail. He sat on the floor with his head cradled in his hands and silent tears flowing. When his phone rung, he scrambled across the room to get it. "Emily, Emily is that you?" "No, it's not", Morgan's face fell when he heard Koa's voice on the other end. "Um Derek what did you do? Mom is crying and Javi's pissed off." "Koa I swear I didn't know it was going to happen. I didn't know that Tamera would show up at my house and I damn sure didn't know that she would kiss me. I swear on everything that I love, I would never cheat on your mother. I would never intentionally hurt her. I put her out the minute it happened. I promi—"

"Look man I believe you simply because I know that my mom while cut your balls off, but I don't think that she believes you. In my opinion, you should just let her calm down." Morgan went into his bedroom and dropped the phone on the floor after he heard the dial tone. He grabbed the gold and navy-blue box. He opened the top to reveal a picture that his mother took before he left the city. It was of him, Emily, Javi, Koa, and Hank. He reached under the photo to see that his mother put her wedding ring in it. Throughout his entire life, he never saw that ring off his mother's hand…until now. _She wants me to marry Emily._ That one sad thought made him cry himself to sleep. His dreams were terrible and making him feel more anguish about his stupidity. A loud banging at his door startled him out of his sleep. He felt the dry tears crack on his face as he slowly got out bed to answer the incessant knocking. He slowly opened the door and felt physically ill at the sight of the other person. With a tear-stained face and new tears freely falling, Morgan looked into the heartbroken eyes of his girlfriend. She was outright sobbing, "Derek why would you do this to me?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Short chapters until I get more free time to write fuller ones.**

Instead of Emily's face sobbing, Derek was met by a hard slap from Garcia. He was in shock as his face started to sting. "Garcia I don't understand." She stormed past him with fury in her eyes, "I sure as hell hope that you do. Javi just called me and told me what happened. How could you cheat on Emily with Tamera? How could you cheat on her at all? She has put her all into this and we thought you did to. You should've just left her alone!" there was knocking on his door that allowed a brief reprieve from Garcia. He opened the door and was met with a left hook right to his face by JJ. He lost his footing and hit the ground. Tara grabbed JJ, "What the hell JJ, you said you wanted to talk not hit." JJ yanked her arm away, "He cheated on my best friend, there's nothing to talk about!" Morgan got off the ground and pinned JJ to the wall the minute she charged at him. He screamed at all three of them, "I didn't cheat on Emily. I pushed Tamera off the second that she kissed me. I had no idea she would show up at my place. I would never, EVER cheat on Emily! She's perfect and I don't deserve her, but I would never intentionally hurt her! You have to believe me. For God's sake, my son was lying on her chest."

All three women saw the hurt in his eyes and believed what he was saying. JJ backed off slowly, "Why did she tell me that you cheated on her?" "Because she saw it from the worst possible perspective there was. She probably hung up before she realized that I pushed her away. I tried calling her back over and over but she won't answer my calls." Garcia started, "If what you're saying is true—" "It is, I swear!" She turned to JJ and Tara, "We have to tell her. Right now, she thinks that he's sleeping with someone else." Morgan pleaded with them, "Please help me tell Emily that I would never hurt her. I am begging you to please help me. I can't lose her, I won't survive it. Please help me save my relationship." JJ shook her head yes, "I'll talk to Hotch and see if—" "Wait a minute", Tara started. She continued, "Just bring Emily here. We don't need to drag anybody else into this. Truthfully, I think you need to give her some time to breather before you try to win her back. Right now, it looks like desperation. In time, it will seem more sincere."

In Chicago, Emily sat in her bed with her knees drawn to her chest and tears flowing down her cheeks. Hank was still sleeping but every time she closed her eyes, she saw him kissing another woman. An unexpected sob escaped and before she knew it, Hank wrapped his chubby arms around her neck and gave her a slobbery kiss on the forehead. Emily found solace in a baby trying to comfort her.


	25. Chapter 25

Emily slowly rocked back and forth in the hammock while attempting to read a book. It had been a week since she'd seen Derek kissing Tamera. It shattered her heart into a million pieces; her friends tried to defend him by saying that she misunderstood. What bothered her more than anything was that him cheating was a very real possibility. She loved their connection, but she couldn't let go of the insecurity that he was a player. She felt like a fool for believing that a tiger could change his stripes. She felt foolish for believing that she could change his player ways. She felt foolish for trying to make this work living in two different places. She just felt foolish. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard, "Hey you." Emily turned around to see her mother holding out a glass of raspberry lemonade. "Hey mom." "Mind if I join you?" Emily sat up in the hammock and moved over to let her mother sit down. They let the wind swing them back and forth gently. Emily looked at her mother out the corner of her eye, "I assume you know? Who told you?" Elizabeth sipped her lemonade, "Your sister." "Who told her?" "Your father. Koa told him." Emily laid her head on her mother's shoulder, "I'm so stupid. Here I am, being faithful a mother to _his_ son, and he's acting like he's single. I thought we were on the same page, but I'm the idiot getting cheated on." Elizabeth thumped Emily on her forehead and heard a soft 'ow'. "Emily, darling you are an idiot. You're an idiot for what you're saying now. Relationships are hard darling, but that doesn't mean that they aren't worth it. I believe that Derek is afraid. He's afraid that you're too perfect for him. He's afraid that you'll leave at any moment. He's afraid that you'll want more than he can give. The man is simply afraid. I don't think that he'd knowingly cheat on you—while on a videochat with you and Hank. Hank is not _his_ child, he's _your_ child together. You feel that he was a player, but what were you? You were sexually free as well—just more reserved about it. Don't throw stones when you live in a glass house sweetheart. You want him to be completely honest and vulnerable with you…doesn't he deserve the same from you?"

Emily started to cry and her mother pulled her close. "I love him so much." "I know." "What do I do?" Her mother kissed the crown of her head, "You fight for him. You fight for your relationship. It's time for some hard decisions to be made and some tough conversations to be had. The time for avoidance is over—put on your big girl pants." Elizabeth wiped Emily's tears away. They relaxed in silence and the comfort of one another.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Back in DC, Hotch was currently walking to his front door to end the persistent knocking. He was surprised to see Morgan standing there. "Come in Morgan." "I'm sorry to interrupt you, I know that you probably have Jack." Hotch waved off his apology, "Jack's in his room playing video games." He motioned for Morgan to have a seat on the couch, "What's on your mind?" Hotch watched as Morgan struggled with his thoughts; Hotch flashed back to the time when he was accused of murder in Chicago and trying to hide his past—the expression was identical. Hotch waited patiently for Morgan to speak, "Morgan you know that you can tell me anything that you need to." Morgan finally forced it out, "I have to leave the BAU." Hotch felt it coming from the moment he and Emily told the team about their relationship. Through the years, even a blind man could see that there was undeniable chemistry between Prentiss and Morgan. They'd all bet on it and JJ was the winner of that team bet. He knew if Morgan lost Emily, then he'd lose himself. It had been hard on the entire team trying to watch him bounce back and be a single dad. In reality, Hotch knew that he'd only hold out for so long before he needed to leave and be an active father to his son. Hotch had been contemplating leaving himself until everything balanced out between the job and Jack.

"I understand Derek. I know that your heart is in Chicago. I know how hard this has been on you. I respect your decision and will give you a glowing recommendation if you need it." Morgan looked at him in disbelief, "Just like that?" Hotch chuckled, "If I have learned anything, it's that you can't allow this job to rip your family away. Family is sacred and it should always be put ahead of the job. I wished that I learned that lesson sooner." Both men stood and Hotch gave him a rare smile before pulling him into a hug, "Go save your family. We'll miss you, but we have phones, computers, and airplanes. You're not getting rid of us that easy. There will be some red tape that should take about a week, so you have that much time to tell the team in your own way. You've got a great woman. Go and be happy Derek."

0o0o0

Emily was in her garage fixing the transmission on one of her new projects, when she felt the atmosphere change. She felt his presence but wasn't prepared to face him. "What do you want Derek?" He took cautious steps, "A chance to explain." She let out a sigh to cover up the sob that threatened to slip out. "Go ahead Derek." "Will you look at me?" Emily didn't move, so he kept talking. "I know what you saw and I want to explain. I would've never, ever done anything like that to you. Emily I love you more than I've ever loved any woman, including Savannah. I have no idea why she showed up at my place and I swear I pushed her away the minute she kissed me. For crying out loud, you were holding our son. I would never allow him to see womanizing behavior from me and think that it's okay. I love you so much that it hurts sometimes. I don't care if I have to prove it to you every single day until we die, but I can't lose you. You mended my heart when I thought it was impossible. I've given up the job because everyday away from you and Hank breaks my heart more and more." Emily turned around and dropped the wrench she was holding, "You quit the BAU for me?" He walked closer to her, "I quit for us." Emily took a step back from him, "Derek we have a lot to talk about." His heart constricted, "Are you leaving me?" A lone tear rolled down her face and she choked out, "I don't know."


	26. Chapter 26

Derek reached out to Emily, but she simply pulled away and turned her back to him. With a shaky voice, "Derek, I don't know if we're meant for each other. I know that we both wanted this to work but honestly…what the hell were we thinking? We were friends that drifted apart, then we decided to give this a try, but who are we kidding? We've both been through horrible things and survived. Truthfully, I had no intention of telling you about my kids until I couldn't keep it a secret anymore. Why should we make this work?" He pulled her close to him, "Because we love each other. I'm not talking about a newfound love, Emily our love runs deep. We get each other on a spiritual level. We can have long conversations without ever saying a word. We're kindred spirits. Don't you believe that? Tell me that you believe that please." He saw the shaking of her shoulders and turned her around slowly. Tears were staining her porcelain cheeks and it broke his heart.

"Derek, I'm scared. I'm scared that we aren't going to make it. I'm scared that you'll find another woman that you want—another woman that you're interested in. I'm scared that I'll end up heartbroken. I'm just scared Derek." He dropped to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms tightly around her lower body; he felt her tears hit the top of his head. He placed a gentle kiss on her stomach, which gave her goosebumps, and whispered, "Princess, there is no other woman like you. We will make it because we love each other enough to work at it. I always thought that the job was my first love, then came Hank followed by you. I left a job that I've poured my everything into for over a decade without blinking an eye because my family—including you—are all I live for. No other woman will make me feel safe and truly loved. No other woman would've readily accepted my son the way you did. No other woman is nerdy, sexy, and awkward all wrapped up in one. No other woman is you—I don't need or want any other woman but you. I will spend the rest of my days ensuring that you know that."

Fresh tears rolled down her face; he knew that something else was bothering her and stood up straight. He cradled her face, much like she did when she found him at the pier, willing her to look into his eyes. He started to kiss the salty tears tracks and rested their foreheads together. After a few minutes, Emily's big brown eyes finally bore into his, "Derek I don't think that I can give you a baby in the future." He pulled back slightly, and her eyes downcast. He immediately lifted her chin, "Is that what this is all about? Baby, I'm not going anywhere regardless of whether or not we have a child together. If we decide that we want another child, then we have options. As of right now, we have our hands full with Hank, Javi, and Koa." He wiped Emily's tears away and kiss her temple. Emily slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "You really left the BAU?", she felt him nod. "What will you do now Derek?" He kissed her shoulder, "I can do my properties full-time now. There's a lot more potential here than in DC. I'll be close to Mama so that she sees Hank grow up. Trying to get rid of me already Princess?" Emily pulled away and started to walk off, "I just don't want you settling because then resentment starts brewing." He grabbed her hand immediately, pulling her back to him, "I'm not settling. At some point, I was bound to leave the BAU. All of us aren't Rossi and Hotch. I can also help you finish that other wing." Emily shook her head from side to side with a smile, "I promised Koa and Javi that we could finish it together." She leaned over to nip at his pouting lips, "You can always teach me the ropes of one of your properties." He laughed at her yelp when he suddenly picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder, "I'll show you ropes alright, woman." Emily laughed and decided to get back at him, "Who told you that I like being tied up?" Derek swatted her butt, "Be good Princess" "Where's the fun in that?" Derek was happy that her turned her tears into laughs and eventually moans of pleasure.


	27. Chapter 27

Today was the day. Today was the day that Morgan was telling the team that he was leaving the BAU. Today was the day that he decided to walk away from a job that became his life for over ten years. Today he was giving it up for the love of his life—a woman that he didn't deserve, yet he cherished with every fiber of his being. He arrived at the BAU and immediately felt the guilt set in. He stopped right outside the glass doors and looked over at the team. He looked at Reid and remembered the first day that he saw the exponentially young and inexperienced agent. He looked at the desk across from Reid. It was the desk that Elle occupied before Emily laid claim to it. It was the desk that now became Tara Lewis' home away from home. He remembered the first time the team changed after Emily. He remembered Seever leaving, Blake leaving, Kate getting pregnant and leaving, and Tara's arrival. The one constant with this team through the years was that they were a family…a family that he adored. But everything is different now. He has a family that matters just a little bit more. He hated to leave them, but he loved Emily more.

He took a deep breath and walked through the doors. They were all at their desks and he could hear Garcia walking up behind him. "Hey Stud Muffin. So, what's the big announcement?" Garcia's question got everyone's attention and they all turned to face him. He panicked and wussed out at the last second. He pulled envelopes out of his briefcase and handed them to every member of the team. They all opened them, however, Rossi was the first to speak, "Are you serious?" Garcia's squeal made him jump and she blurted out happily, "I can't believe that Javicia and Koa are graduating already! And we all have tickets that are paid for!" He chuckled nervously, "Yeah, Emily's folks sprung for that. JJ, there's a ticket for Will, Henry, and Michael flies free. Hotch, there's one for Jack. And everyone else has an extra one for whomever you want to bring. You guys will be at her parents' home on the island with my family. We'll be at Emily's condo 5 minutes away with the kids. This is going to be a huge party and luckily Hotch and I talked Strauss into giving us the time off. They don't know you guys are coming…so this will be a giant surprise. Emily asked me to relay the message—especially to you Baby Girl—to not get outrageous with the gifts." Garcia pouted her glossed lips, making everybody laugh. She suddenly clapped loudly and pulled both JJ and Tara to their feet, "Come on my lovelies, we have shopping and packing to do!"

Morgan waited until they were all gone before stepping into Hotch's office. Hotch looked at him in understanding and said, "Couldn't tell them?" Derek let out a long breath, "I think I want to wait until after the graduation." Hotch nodded in understanding, "You'll be officially a former agent in 2 weeks, don't wait too late. They'll all want a proper goodbye and explanation. We're still family, that will never change. People have to move on to new chapters…this is your time. We'll all miss you, but we'll be happy for you and Emily…just don't get married without us", he finished with a laugh. Morgan laughed and gave Hotch a firm handshake.

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"Mom, can I ask you a question?" Javi asked from the chair in the corner of Emily's home office. Emily looked away from the computer for a moment, "Of Course. What's up?" She struggled with her words for a moment, "I want to invite Declan to graduation. Do you think it's a good idea?" Emily's breath caught her throat, "Why do you want to invite him?" Javi looked away, "I'm tired of the fighting plus I know how close he and Koa are. It wouldn't be right to make him miss Koa's moment because of an outdated beef. Now, I'm not saying that I'm completely over it, but I can put my issues to the side for Koa." Emily's eyes watered before she felt Javi hug her. Emily said, "That's really sweet of you baby. I think that Koa will love it. I'll call Declan." "Thanks mom."

Emily went back to typing on her computer when her phone rang. She smiled upon seeing Fran's name. She answered the phone, "Having second thoughts about Hawaii already?" "Heavens no. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I was wondering if you would take me to the doctor." Emily perked up, "Everything okay?" "Um yes. Sarah is still out of town for her anniversary and Desiree is busy with open houses. Besides, they would just worry and fret. I don't want that. I know that what I'm about to ask of you is hard but I need your help." "Of course Fran, what's wrong?" "I need to get a biopsy done to see if the lump in my breast is cancerous or not." Emily's mind went back to 3 years ago when her own mother found a lump. For Elizabeth, it was cancerous and resulted in radiation and a mastectomy. Emily still hasn't fully recovered emotionally from that. She was lost in her head until she heard Fran calling her name. "Yes, I'll take you to the doctor." "Thank you, I just don't want my kids to worry until I know for sure." "I understand. When is the appointment?" "Tomorrow at 9:30 am? I'll let you get back to what you were doing." "Wait!" Emily started before she could catch herself. She waited for a few moments before saying, "I think I'll get one too, just to be sure."


End file.
